Farmers Announce September 25 Protest Outside Parliament Over Crop Prices and Rising Costs

• Farmers’ organisations demand a wheat procurement policy and lower costs for diesel, fertilisers, pesticides and electricity.
• Growers seek a sugarcane support price of Rs650 per 40kg, payment of outstanding dues and a November start to crushing.
• Leaders raise concerns over water shortages and call for the release of detained farmer activists.

Farmers’ organisations have announced a protest outside Parliament House in Islamabad on September 25, demanding timely crop pricing policies and relief from rising agricultural production costs.

Kisan Ittehad Central Chairman Khalid Hussain Batth and Sindh Abadgar Ittehad representative Nawab Zubair Talpur told the media that growers needed clarity on wheat procurement before the next sowing season. Wheat cultivation is due to begin in October in Sindh and Balochistan and in November in Punjab, but they said no provincial government had announced a procurement policy for the upcoming crop.

The leaders put wheat production costs at approximately Rs4,500 per 40kg and demanded a price that would allow farmers a 20 per cent profit margin. They claimed growers had been compelled to sell below production costs for three consecutive years, discouraging wheat cultivation and increasing the country’s reliance on imports.

They said the government was now importing 750,000 metric tons of wheat at an estimated international cost of $380 million. Without a procurement policy that protects growers’ interests, they warned, Pakistan could eventually need to import between 3.5 million and 4 million metric tons.

Highlighting the gap between farm and retail prices, the representatives said flour was selling for around Rs8,000 per 40kg, while wheat had previously been purchased from farmers at approximately Rs3,200 for the same quantity.

The organisations also demanded diesel relief for agricultural use, saying farmers should benefit from the fuel relief announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. They called for lower prices of DAP, urea, pesticides and electricity, arguing that these expenses had substantially increased the cost of producing crops.

For the coming sugarcane season, the leaders demanded a minimum support price of Rs650 per 40kg and urged authorities to announce it well before crushing begins. They also sought the clearance of outstanding payments to growers and the start of the crushing season in November, saying they had no objection to sugar exports.

Water shortages were another major concern. The representatives said supplies were failing to reach tail-end agricultural areas in southern Punjab and Sindh. They demanded effective implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty and criticised India’s approach to the treaty and water-sharing issues.

Linking Pakistan’s food security to reliable water supplies, the leaders announced plans to approach the United Nations and other international organisations in Islamabad. They said they would submit letters seeking effective implementation of the treaty.

They also demanded the immediate release of Kisan Ittehad Punjab General Secretary Malik Yasin Jhajh and other farmer activists, who they claimed had been jailed for raising issues affecting growers.