Sindh Abadgar Board on Thursday claimed that despite fixation of wheat support price, the provincial government has not only failed to establish procurement centres, but also been unable hand over wheat bags to the growers, amid serious wheat flour crisis due to which wheat is now going from growers to the businessmen and hoarders.
Addressing a press conference at Larkana press club, the Sindh Abadgar Board leaders said now growers have 30% wheat left with them as they have sold their produce on lower rates due to sheer negligence of the food department, owing to its failure to establish procurement centres on time, adding that the farmers will suffer huge losses on this crop as well. The leaders said that the federal government has also failed to devolve any policy on agriculture even though it is the backbone of our economy.
They said last year the federal government asked to fix the wheat rate at Rs.1800 but later on it was fixed at Rs.1600 per 40 kg but the federal government failed to fulfill its procurement target, due to which wheat flour crisis surfaced across the country and it was sold on exorbitant rates in the open market.
The leaders of the Abadgar board said the federal government imported four million tons of wheat, which too was substandard at the rate of Rs.2600 but it failed to give Rs.2000 to its growers and paid Rs.1000 more in dollars to outsiders per 40 kg. They said this is not justice.
The leaders claimed not a single gunny bag has so far been distributed among the tillers out of 1.8 to 2 million bags in Sindh due to which peasants of the entire Larkana division are extremely worried.
Reflecting upon the failures of the governments, the leaders questioned if the federal and provincial governments are unable to do anything for local farmers and growers, then what else can they do for others. They said failure to establish procurement centres, rulers are committing economic murder of the growers which shoudl be condemned.
They demanded the opening of procurement centres or else warned they will knock the door of the court to seek justice.