OUR farmers are in dire straits. The government has left them high and dry instead of improving their standard of living and facilitating them to make them more productive.

At presently two problems have tightened the grip around the necks of the farming community. First, the unavailability of urea fertiliser is adding to their fears of growing substandard crops.

While farmers are in search of fertilisers, the provincial and federal governments have taken no steps to ease this concern. The farmers have ultimately either been left at the mercy of stockers and hoarders or have harvested crops without the help of fertilisers.

The second grave problem of the farmers is poor management of the current sugarcane crop. Monopolist millers are looting them. The farmers are facing problems of under-payment, low pricing and illegal deduction in the name of quality.

MUHAMMAD ALI HARAL Sangra village, Chiniot