President Pakistan Kissan Ittehad Khalid Mehmood Khokhar urged the Punjab government to clarify the mechanism and details of the recently announced wheat support price of Rs3,500 per 40kg, stressing that farmers are still uncertain whether they will actually receive this rate.
While holding press conference here, he emphasized that the government must clearly define how and at what stage the price will be implemented, whether it will be given at the farm or through procurement centers , and ensure that middlemen do not exploit farmers.
The Kissan Ittehad president also demanded the establishment of an independent price commission to assess the real cost of wheat production and add a minimum 25% profit margin for farmers. He warned without fair compensation, wheat cultivation could decline, posing a serious threat to national food security.
He criticized the policy restricting farmers from selling wheat in the open market, saying that such controls discourage production. “Farmers invest their own capital, labor, and land, yet they are denied the right to sell freely,” he lamented.
Comparing Pakistan’s input costs with a neighboring country, he maintained that fertilizer, diesel, and electricity were heavily subsidized across the border, while Pakistani farmers face record expenses without guaranteed returns.
Reiterating that “food security is equal to national security,” he appealed to Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz to revisit the announced wheat support price, engage with farmer representatives, and formulate a clear and fair policy.
He concluded that Pakistan could easily achieve self-sufficiency in food production if the government stood firmly with its farmers through just pricing and supportive policies.