MULTAN, Sept 30: The farming community of the southern Punjab has welcomed the government decision to increase wheat procurement price from Rs625 per 40 kgs to Rs950.

Progressive farmer and a former Speaker Syed Fakhar Imam said that the decision to raise procurement price would help the farming community earn decent returns on their wheat crop.

It would also eliminate wheat shortage, he said, adding wheat shortage this year forced the country to spend billions to match the demand of wheat.

He blamed the Shaukat Aziz government for mismanagement that led to the worst food crisis.

The previous government did not announce the support price on appropriate time that led the farmers to shift to other crops.

They opted not to apply expensive fertiliser according to the requirement to cut their expenses.

He said that the target of 25 million tons of wheat crop could be achieved if the government reduces diesel prices and assures availability of good seeds.

He said that the Punjab Seed Corporation was producing quality seed for the last three decades, but the production has been stopped due to wrong policies of former governor Khalid Maqbool.

Khawja Mohammad Shoaib of the Farmers’ Vision Forum said that the government had announced a balanced procurement price of wheat at an appropriate time that would encourage the farming community.

He urged the government to abolish unnecessary subsidy of Rs44 billion on fertilisers that was not being passed on to farmers. Instead the amount should be used to subsidise the urban poor to buy wheat and wheat flour.

He said that wheat was a key crop and if rulers fail to handle it properly, it can create a lot of problems from them.

In his view before announcing the procurement price of any commodity, the policy-makers should give consideration to three points, including the cost of production, price of the commodity at regional and international levels and the affordability of consumers.

He said that the government needs to be vigilant that the price of wheat should not increase before the harvesting of the coming crop.

He said that the Punjab government had released wheat to the flour mills at Rs545 per 40 kgs under Ramazan Package and flour was available at Rs600 per 40 kgs in all over the Punjab without witnessing any shortage.

Appreciating the Punjab government, he said that it had proved that it was viable for flour millers that after purchasing wheat at Rs545 per 40 kgs flour can be made available at Rs600 per 40 kgs that includes grinding cost, transportation, profit of retailer and miller and all kinds of expenses.

He said that there were reports that after the holy month, the Punjab government would allow millers to sell flour at Rs800 per kgs while the government would release wheat to mills at Rs690.

Progressive farmer and President Kisan Board (Bosan Town) Ejaz Rijwana said that although it was a welcome step taken by the government, but there was a need to do more for the farming sector.

He said that a rise of Rs325 proves that there were no chances of decrease in the prices of oil and fertilisers.

He said that increasing prices of fuel, fertilisers, water shortage and increase in electricity tariff, along the unavailability of electricity, has created a difficult situation for the farming community and farmers would hardly be able to manage their economical affairs even after the increase of Rs325 in procurement price.

He said that more than 60 per cent population of the country was linked with the farming sector and the increase in procurement price would help improve their economic condition.