ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Kisan Ittehad on Tuesday urged the government to announce its wheat policy as the harvesting season approaches.
Pakistan Kisan Ittehad Chairman Khalid Khokhar said the government had yet to announce a clear policy for the upcoming wheat crop.
Speaking to the media, Khokhar said Punjab farmers had cultivated 16% more sugarcane this year.
He advised the government to retain enough sugar stocks to meet domestic demand until November. The remaining stocks should then be exported, he suggested.
Khokhar questioned the impact on farmers if sugarcane growers suffered losses.
“We don’t want subsidy but a legitimate and justified price of our crops,” he said.
He also criticised what he described as political interference in crop pricing.
“Pakistan is the only country in the world where sugarcane and wheat crops are subjects of politics,” Khokhar said.
The farmers’ leader also announced a change in the group’s protest strategy.
“We have now changed the mode of our protest, now we don’t need to hit the roads,” he said.
Khokhar warned that farmers could reduce cultivation of their crops if the government failed to address their concerns.
He urged the authorities to provide farmers with clear policies and fair crop prices ahead of the upcoming harvesting season.
