Daily Times

Farmers from all over Punjab staged three days of protest on The Mall, Lahore, against the policies of the department of agriculture, which they believe have led to the financial losses that the agriculture sector has been suffering lately. The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) has mobilised small and medium sized land owners from all over the province and given them a platform from which to air their grievances. PKI’s protests have been going on for a few months now and the government has tried to do everything in its power to stop these farmers from protesting. The first protest, which came on the heels of the Youhanabad incident, was met with police brutality and several peaceful protesters were arrested. In subsequent protests, PKI activists were stopped from entering the city. They ended up staging the protest right there at the entrance to the city, blocking the passage for commuters. At some points during the recent protest, the disgruntled farmers closed down The Mall from all points of entry and choked up traffic. To end the last protest, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah held talks with the PKI and agreed to some of their demands in writing. However, no concrete measure were taken to alleviate their concerns. Now negotiations with and fresh promises from the Punjab government have ended the protest, at least for now.

Agriculture is still the backbone of our economy and if this sector declines, it will have serious repercussions. The PKI has elucidated several issues troubling farmers today. The president of the PKI has brought up the issue of the land of the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) being appropriated for a housing colony, in addition to the prior demands. He believes that the seizure of NARC land shows the attitude of the government towards the agriculture sector. The PKI has said that the agriculture sector has incurred huge losses because of the high cost of electricity and its infrequent supply. The import of vegetables and potatoes from India at far cheaper prices has made it difficult for local producers to compete. Indian farmers enjoy subsidies from the government that drive down their costs of production and allow them to sell their produce at internationally competitive prices. Pakistan’s farmers, on the other hand, are struggling to break even. The imposition of general sales tax (GST) on farmers has also had a considerable impact on smaller land owners. Pakistan is already dependent upon external sources of fossil fuels for its vehicles, industry and to generate electricityn and not making the agriculture sector a priority will lead to a greater dependency on external produce. Diminished agricultural produce affects several industries that depend upon this sector, such as the pesticide, fertilizer and textile industries. Therefore, even if the government cannot fulfil all of the PKI’s demands, the state must make agriculture a priority for the benefit of the economy as a whole. *