Will PML-N government, under the leadership of Mian Nawaz Sharif, be able to bring down the prices of most essential food items such as flour (Atta), which is the most important concern of millions of poor Pakistanis who are biggest victim of rising wheat prices. The price of flour (Atta) has shot up from Rs 37 to Rs 40 per kg from Rs 30 per kg a year ago almost a 20 percent increase.
People are heard saying it was PML-N government in Punjab that doled out billions of rupees on "Sasti Roti" project to provide two-time affordable food to poorest of poor. Voters are now looking at PML-N leadership to take concrete and long-term steps to control the prices of essential food items that is making common man's life miserable. Power crisis is already taking its toll on the job market and in an ever-increasing unemployment scenario the out-of-reach food prices are also becoming a major threat to the economy and masses.
According to the analysts, the country is faced with a huge food security crisis with majority of its population undernourished and hungry hence food insecurity is assuming greater urgency and should be the top priority of PML-N government. The leadership already understood and gave great importance to food security issue, said a PML-N leader privy to the discussions taking place at Raiwind Farm House these days. "We fully understand that agriculture represents 21 percent of the country's GDP and new government would introduce measures to support agriculture and also introduce measures to control elements that contribute in rising crop prices," he said.
"We understand that instead of giving subsidy or increasing the prices of important crops such as wheat etc we need to bring down the prices of all important farm inputs such as urea, pesticides and electricity. This would help bring down the cost of cop production hence would ease the burden from farmers and ensure affordable prices of essential food items for the masses.
Sources said farmers had been paying a very heavy price by ensuring food security for the masses and its time that "we bring down the prices of key inputs to control the increasing menace of rising food prices and food security." He said prices of fertiliser, diesel, water, seeds and pesticides had increased manifolds in the last few years and farmers and masses both were losing ends.
"Government must support farming community for producing important crops for the country. Instead of increasing the support price for important food crops to support the farmers that results in increased prices of most essential food item like flour, we must provide relief to farmers by decreasing the prices of key farm input. We have identified the problem and we would introduce measures to ensure that we support our farmers and also ensure that food prices remain affordable for common man who is already suffering on many fronts due to poor economic conditions of the country," he said.
Pakistan is currently ranked 75th amongst the 105 countries in the new - Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2012, - worse than India and Bangladesh. Pakistan's low ranking on GFSI especially regarding wheat and rice is stark reminder of the lack of government efforts to combat growing hunger in the country. The National Nutrition Survey says almost 60 percent households in Punjab suffer from food insecurity. Sindh was found to be the poorest and most food deprived province as 72 percent households were found to be food insecure followed by Balochistan with 63.5 percent of the population.
According to UN view on Pakistan "inflation, decline in income, natural disasters and stagnating domestic productivity are hampering the attempts to achieve food security for the country's 180 million citizens. Population growth will propel Pakistan further towards a starving nation."
As per a recent study, fertiliser, which is one of the main critical inputs towards agriculture, total fertiliser costs in 2008/09 per acreage, was Rs 4,450 per acre. This has increased by 83 percent in 2012/13 to Rs 8,125 per acre for the average farmer. Despite all the worst indicators and deteriorating food security conditions and rising hunger, previous government seemed oblivious of the ground realities and did nothing to counter this menace.
By increasing price of wheat every year, the government tries to consolidate its rural vote bank, thinking that all farmers would benefit. This is, however, a wrong assumption if Pakistan Agriculture Census is to be believed. According to it, around 85 percent farmers don't produce marketable surplus. Thus, they are not the beneficiaries of a regular increase.
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