Daily Times

President Pakistan Kisan Ittehad Khalid Mahmood Khokhar raised grave concerns on Sunday about country’s agriculture future and urged the government to take immediate measures to support farmers. While holding a press conference, he called upon the government to spell out its wheat policy. “Everyone deserves affordable flour, but the production costs of farming community must be reduced,” he demanded. He expressed concerns over potential hike in urea fertliser prices. He regretted that the government had not decided on the sugarcane procurement yet, while the crop was ready for harvest. “If agriculture thrives, only then the national economy will improve,” he added. “Climate change has destroyed our crops, and cotton production has dropped by 64 per cent,” he said, adding that most farmers could not afford to sow their next crop. He urged the government to develop a 10-year agricultural policy, adding that farmers were facing losses on every crop. “This year, cotton production will not exceed 4 million bales,” he warned. “The country needs to eradicate corruption if it hopes to move forward,” he stressed.