Associations of farmers have urged the government to fix tobacco rate at Rs 300 per kilogram to provide relief to growers in the face of ever-rising inflation.
Officials of Kissan Board Pakistan and Kissan Board Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have made these demands through a convention of the farmers that was well attended by the growers and their representatives. They also warned the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) against imposition of any new tax on these products.
President of Kissan Board Pakistan said the government should introduce grower-friendly policies in the country to promote agriculture, strengthen the country’s economy and support farmers. He demanded that the government must fix the rate of tobacco at Rs300 per kilogram to support the farmers.
Speaking on the occasion, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed said that agriculture sector of the country was weakening due to poor policies of the government. He said Pakistan used to export wheat, but now it has imported wheat worth Rs 108 billion from Russia.
The senator said that prices of the pesticides were getting out of the reach of the farmers, and growers were switching to other professions. He warned that if the government failed to do the course correction, the country could face food shortage in the coming years.
Addressing the farmers’ convention, President Kissan Board Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rizwanullah Khan said that arrears of the growers pending with the Universal Tobacco and Indus Tobacco should be immediately cleared. He said that Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) should cancel these companies’ quota if they fail to clear their arrears, and the government should initiate legal action against them. Khan said the farmers will be left with no choice but to protest in front of the Chief Minister House if their pending dues were not cleared at the earliest.