Urea fertilizer: Tobacco growers reject govt’s ‘unjustified’ ban

PESHAWAR: Tobacco growers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have out-rightly rejected the government’s unjustified ban on urea fertilizer and the exploitation by major tobacco companies.

The growers demanded the immediate lifting of the ban on the purchase of urea fertilizer and to make tobacco companies bound to purchase all the tobacco produced by farmers.

Rizwanullah, Central Vice President of the Kissan Board while talking to media said that the government is making life difficult for farmers day by day and is determined to destroy the country’s agriculture and the families associated with it in various ways.

He strongly condemned the government’s unjustified raids on urea fertilizer shops and the ban on its sale.

Rizwanullah called it unjustified, stating that on one hand, wheat, jawar and other crop yields are already extremely low in our province, and a better yield without urea fertilizer is impossible.

He said that compared to Pakistan, urea fertilizer prices in India and Bangladesh are three times lower, which is why farmers there are more prosperous than us.

He added that after getting a free hand from the government, tobacco companies have continued the continuous exploitation of tobacco growers.

The FBR has imposed unfair taxes and blocked the way for small companies, paving the way for two big mafia companies to loot farmers, which are constantly acting arbitrarily, the growers said.

General Secretary Abdul Samad; President Khyber Central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Haji Abdul Akbar Khan; President District Mardan Haji Sher Ali Khan; President Tehsil Katlang Abrar Khan; Haji Noor Muhammad; Nematullah Khan; and Haji Abdul Ghafoor Khan said that the cost of tobacco cultivation and its preparation is extremely high, but there is no representative of farmers on the committee that fixes prices.

The price-fixing committee sits in air-conditioned rooms and is made up of people who are unaware of farmers and tobacco crop preparation.

Similarly, the government collects billions of rupees in taxes from tobacco every year, but instead of spending the tobacco cess money on the welfare of farmers, the rulers and bureaucracy are spending it on their luxuries.

The Tobacco Board is also completely helpless.

They demanded that the government bind all small and big tobacco companies to purchase all tobacco from farmers at a fair price and to make payment to farmers within one month. They also demanded the immediate lifting of the ban on urea fertilizer and a reduction in its prices.

They also announced full participation in the protest against the petroleum levy on 7th August on the call of the Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami, saying that the exorbitant increase in petroleum prices is also having negative effects on farmers and is destroying the public and the national economy.

Therefore, the ruling class should come to its senses and bring petrol and diesel prices to a reasonable level.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026