Senate body lauds decision to enhance wheat support price
By Ali Imran

ISLAMABAD—The Senate Standing Committee on Food, Agriculture & Livestock has commended the Government’s recent decision to enhance the support price of wheat raising it to Rs. 625/- (per 40 kg) and termed it as a step in the right direction, which will encourage farmers to grow more wheat.
The Committee, which met at the Parliament House Monday under the Chairmanship of Senator Muhammad Amjad Abbas, hoped that this incentive would lead to major increase in the production of wheat in the country and benefit the growers’ community. “Historically, increase in support price has always given boost to production”, observed the Committee Members. “Whereas lower prices have always led to a surge in smuggling, black-marketing etc as the market follows its own inherent dynamics”, argued the Members.
The Committee directed PASSCO to ensure that the procurement operations remains smooth all over the country and farmers be paid the price swiftly. It was also observed that whenever the price differential is high between Pakistan and the neighboring countries (as was the case a few months back), smuggling and hoarding was the logical outcome. In a globalized World, we cannot operate in isolation. If right kind of policies are not adopted and pursued back home, we will end up no where and our farmers would be ruined as wheat is selling at a much higher price in Afghanistan, India, Iran and CARs etc, said the Members. Therefore, the crop has to be economically viable so that the farmers keep growing it.
The Committee urged the Government to intensify efforts for lowering the prices of agri-inputs principally DAP, pesticides, quality seeds etc in addition to agricultural implements and tractors / bulldozers etc and setting up of more pesticide plants. It also called for complete elimination of the role of middle man, which is exploitative and detrimental to farmer’s interests.
Earlier, the Ministry of Food & Agriculture informed the Committee that this year’s target for wheat procurement has been fixed at 5.0 million tones. It was also informed that if the farmers are not given the right kind of support price, he will lose all incentive to grow wheat since the profitability and lure of competing crops like Canola / Sun Flower etc is simply too high for him to resist. It was further informed that the first batch of 50 bulldozers, (out of total 300) would arrive from China in July this year and these would be put on trial for two months in difficult terrain of NWFP and Balochistan.
The Committee was apprised of the role of PASSCO and Provincial Departments authorized to procure Wheat in the country with particular reference to the mal-practices in these organizations previously pointed out in the last meeting of the Committee and the National Policy to protect the interests of the Growers without shifting the burden to the consumers.
The meeting was attended, among others, by Senators Shuja-ul-Mulk, Ms. Agha Pari Gul, Muhammad Abbas Komaili, Raza Muhammad Raza, Sahibzada Khalid Jan and Ms. Ratna Bhagwandas Chawla besides the senior officials of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock & Chairman PASSCO.