HYDERABAD, Sept 20: The Sindh Abadgar Board has urged the federal government to increase support price of wheat for the next crop from Rs400 to Rs415 per 40kg to neutralize adverse effect of increase in the oil price. In a letter addressed to the Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Sikandar Hayat Bosan on Tuesday, the president of the board, Mr Abdul Majeed Nizamani, said the farmers were getting only a nominal return on their crops and sometimes these returns were even negative.

He said the current free import policy of the government and an inordinate increase in prices of agricultural inputs had a detrimental effect on the agricultural economy.

He said the sowing season of wheat was to start shortly and expressed fear that escalating oil prices would have fatal effect on wheat production.

Mr Nizamani said according to the board’s assessment the rising diesel prices would translate into less usage of tractors for ground levelling.

He said under the circumstances wheat production was likely to fall by two to 2.5 maunds per acre as a result the total loss in production would be to the tune of 2,079,987 tons.

Mr Nizamani said at current international rate of wheat the government would have to spent Rs26 billion on import of wheat to cover production losses.

He demanded that the government should increase the support price of wheat from Rs400 to Rs415 per 40kg to augment capacity of farmers to increase per acre yield and save precious foreign exchange.

He said by increasing the support price, the government would be investing only Rs8 billion but in return it would reap a bumper harvest and save Rs18 billion which it was otherwise bound to spend on import of wheat to meet the shortfall.

The SAB president said increase in the support price of wheat would also send a positive signal to farmers to grow more wheat.

HCC&I: For eight vacant seats of the executive committee of the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, nomination papers were filed for four vacant seats of member class and 10 nominations were filed for four vacant seats of associate class by 11am on Monday which was the last date for filing nominations.