As farmers continue their protest at the Faisal intersection on the Mall Road in Lahore for the second consecutive day, opposition political parties have jumped in for political gains, considering the tricky situation the government finds itself in. The demands of the farmers, though a little bit excessive, are genuine and need to be redressed. These demands include an agricultural emergency for five years, fixing of prices for cash crops, halting of agricultural trade with India, abolishment of agricultural taxes, announcement of subsidies and abolishment of GST, affordable tariff rates for tube wells, and lifting of restriction on the approval of canal water. Both Imran Khan and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari have voiced their support for farmers’ concerns. Syed Khurshid Shah even went on to say that Bilawal would join the protesting farmers if their demands were not met. Even if the protest has some political backing as voiced by some pundits, given its clash of timing with the Raiwind March of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the demands of the farmers’ community cannot be ignored. For years, the agriculture sector has suffered due to short-term policies of the government, further aggravated by the current government’s penchant to prioritise industrial sector over agriculture. Even the Kisan Package announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has not helped to mitigate farmers’ concerns. There have been allegations of corruption and other hurdles being placed in applying for per-acre cash support extended under the package. Reports suggest that they the applicants are being forced to pay kickbacks, and have their CNICs verified with NADRA in a lengthy process. The trade issue with India has been blown out of proportion by the opposition political parties many times, but it is a fact that it has severely impacted small scale farmers. Moreover, due to the worsening load-shedding in situation in the past two decades, farmers have been forced to use alternative methods for running of tube wells and turbines, resulting in an increase in production costs to an exorbitant level. Pakistan is primarily an agriculture-based economy. While Pakistan needs to develop along the modern lines by more progress in the industrial sector, the agriculture sector, which is the main contributor to the economy and employees the highest number of people, cannot be side-lined either. Trends suggest that even during the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz governments, the agriculture sector had been ignored in favour of others. Government should realise that agricultural output has taken a severe hit, and the losses cannot be mitigated by offering special packages. The sector requires special attention of the government. Otherwise, it would not only damage country’s economy but will also further harm the standing of the incumbent government.*