LAHORE, March 5: Former foreign minister and chairman of the Farmers Associates Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday put his weight behind the agriculture tax, saying the sector be brought into the net and big growers should pay and play their role in national development. Addressing a meeting held here to mark 20th FAP birthday, Qureshi said the sector had been paying indirect taxes, adding that time had come for rich farmers to pay income tax if the country was to be saved from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lenders.

“The agricultural sector can play pivotal role in strengthening the ailing economy and help it put on path to self-reliance. Small and subsistence farmers can be exempted from the tax but those who can pay must pay,” he said.

However, he said, the modalities of payment of agriculture income tax and how to make it farmers-friendly could be discussed. The former foreign minister offered his services for creating a national consensus on agricultural income tax and raising the issue in the parliament. The parliament consisted of public representatives and it should look for solutions to problems being faced by the public, he said.

“If we don’t accept lenders’ conditions like Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST), then we have to generate our own resources. If salaried class and some other segments of society are paying income tax, why cannot big growers? Time has come for agricultural reforms and a debate should start on its advantages and disadvantages,” he said.

Mr Qureshi, who had also been holding portfolio of provincial finance minister, said the economic condition of the country was extremely challenging.

The IMF programme was on the hold, fiscal deficit was on the rise, inflation was in double digit and food inflation was hitting the masses very hard. Rising level of poverty and unemployment were other major areas of concern for the country. All these factors along with deteriorating security situation have shaken the investors’ confidence, both domestic and foreign.

“Under these circumstances, agriculture sector can become saving grace for the country. It has enormous potential and can make the country food surplus. It can help Pakistan earn dollars every six months,” he added.

Unfortunately, the country was also deficient in pre-requisites like water and power deemed essential for a healthy economy, he said, asking, “Without energy, how can our industry work and how can we operate our tube-wells for irrigating the crops? Without water, how can we develop our agriculture?”

The US experts in their reports have hinted that water could become a bone of contention between India and Pakistan in future. “We have seen glimpse of such a conflict within our country when Sindh and Punjab locked horns over water allocation. The country needs to build water reservoirs to avoid such conflicts,” he advised.

“Pakistan has hundreds of thousands of acres of cultivable land, which is not being used due to water shortage. If water is available, Dera Ismail Khan and Balochistan can produce finest cotton. It could also help promote livestock in Balochistan,” he concluded.

Farmers Associates Pakistan – an apex body of progressive farmers – was founded in 1991 by Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, late Malik Khuda Bux Bucha, Malik Afaq Ahmad Tiwana, Khurshid Zaman Qureshi, Qaiser Zulfiqar Khan Daha, Sheikh Muhammad Naseem, late Syed Iqbal Mustafa, late Brig (Retd) Ghazanfar Muhammad Khan (Late) and Mian Noor Ahmad Hotiana.