President Farmers Alliance Khalid Mahmood Khokar met with Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Makhdoom Khysro Bakhtia and apprised him of the problems that farmers have been confronting due unaffordable cost of agriculture inputs, lack of reasonable support prices of cereals and cash crops like wheat and cotton. The minister told him that price of Urea fertilizer has been reduced from Rs.2040 to 1665 and assured the problems of small farmers shall be addressed in due course of time.
As per the report of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, agriculture is still mainstay of the economy as it contributes 20 percent share to GDP directly in addition to providing support to textile and sugar industries. But it is in a state of deep crisis over the past three decades. Farmers face water shortages, high cost of agriculture inputs and lack of compensation when standing crops are destroyed by natural calamities. Need for crops protection and their insurance has never been realised by successive governments.
Paltry reduction in the price of one brand of fertilizer does not substantially bring down the abnormally escalated cost that farmers incur in the shape of purchasing seeds, insecticides, optimal combination of fertilizers and high wages of labour. The levies of sugarcane cess and gas infrastructure development cess have further compounded the woes of farmers impacting the yield of a number of crops.
In the decade of 60s a long term plan of crops protection against insects and pests attacks had been in place. Farmers had been getting the required insecticides and pesticides at lower rates and their crops protection efforts used to be supplemented by aerial spray done by the government. When the locust swarms were decimating standing crops in Africa last year, government knew that their attack was coming. But no action plan and strategies were drawn up. From June till December last year several meeting were held but no concrete plan was chalked out to prevent the imminent locust attack. When it came in January, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research had to tell National Assembly that locust attack has created an alarming situation. But after his statement on the floor of the house it took two months to announce National Emergency declared few days ago.
This the second time since 1993 that locust swarms have devastated crops in the country. They have ruined wheat, maize, cotton and tomato crops in all the four provinces on 300,000 square kilometers of farm land. Locust attacks are still on and local administrations have launched manual insecticides spray campaign. Farmers are desperately trying to combat the worst type of recurring locust attacks. After declaring national emergency, federal government has appealed for help to the international community to eradicate the menace of locusts. Federal government has asked provincial governments and federal departments to review the ongoing national action plan to smash locust swarms. Sindh government has described the measures taken so far by the central government insufficient and has demanded for deploying 10 airplanes for aerial spray. As agriculture is now entirely a provincial subject devolved to the federating units under 18th Amendment and 57 percent federal revenue is being allocated to provincial governments, therefore, payment of compensation to farmers fall within their dolman ant not of central government. Likewise, crops protection measures is also the responsibility of provincial governments.
Agriculture research also falls within the purview of provinces. But most of the agriculture research centers are dysfunctional for the want of researchers, equipment and chemicals. Hence, high yield varieties of seeds for cereals crops pulses and beans could not be evolved and reliance on importing expensive genetically modified seeds has increased. Similarly, a federal organisation Nuclear Institute of Food and Research is no longer of much help and professional assistance to provincial agriculture departments. There is a need of closer coordination and cooperation between the center and provinces to steer agriculture from the prevailing deep crisis.
