ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary body on Tuesday recommended the government to fix Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat at Rs1,900 on immediate basis in order to encourage local farmers to grow additional wheat. The National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research, which met with chairman MNA Muhammad Ajmal Khan, asked the government to fix MSP of wheat before the start of sowing season of wheat.
"The government need to raise MSP up to Rs1,800 or Rs1,900 as soon as possible to encourage farmers to grow more wheat," he said, adding that if government failed to announce new MSP of wheat on time, the production of the commodity would further decline in the country in the upcoming season.
Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research (NFS&R) Syed Fakhar Imam informed the committee that his ministry was in constant contact with the provincial governments with respect to fixing of the MSP of wheat.
Omer Hamid Khan, secretary NFS&R told the committee that Agriculture Policy Institute (API) an attached department of his ministry has developed MSP for wheat, and the ministry has started discussion over it with the provincial government. In the next few days, we will be able to put it before relevant forum for approval, he said.
The committee also asked the government to take concrete steps for provision of quality seed of cotton; otherwise, the production of cotton would further decrease in the country. The committee also expressed concern over delay in devising disbursement mechanism for Rs32.50 fertilizer subsidy under the fiscal package for the agriculture sector.
MNA Sheikh Fayyaz Ud Din said that that due to anti-agriculture policies of consecutive government, the production target of cotton crop had not been achieved during the last six year.
Government has fixed cotton production target for 2020-2021 at 10.89 million bales but keeping in view the current situation, this target of cotton production would not be achieved, he said.
He said that the government should direct sugar mills to start crushing of sugarcane, and if crushing of sugarcane did not start on time, the country would face wheat shortage next year, and cotton production would further decline.
Imam further told the committee that major factor for our low output of crops was the outdated seed technology.
Climate change has done a lot of damage to our agriculture production this year, he said adding that Punjab and Sindh were the most-affected provinces of these recent rains, which was also a reason that we could not meet out set production targets in some crops.
The torrential rains and flood has damaged over 500,000 bales of cotton in Sindh province, and caused damages to cotton crop in Punjab province, he said.
About disbursement mechanism for Rs32.50 fertiliser subsidy under the fiscal package for agriculture sector, the minister said that the experts of our ministry were continuously working on it, and we were trying to ensure transparency in this regard.
Regarding wheat flour prices and shortage, he said that this year we were short of 1.5 million ton of wheat target for which we have allowed private entities to import wheat.
As many as 430,000 tons of imported wheat has arrived and rest will also reach Pakistan soon, he said.
He said that reasons behind decline in cotton production include water shortage particularly in lower Sindh, high temperature during boll formation, persistence of cotton leaf curl virus, outbreak of whitefly and pink bollworm in Punjab and Sindh, and high input cost.
Wajid Zia Director General (DG) Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), while briefing the committee about sugar and wheat commission reports, said that following the submission of the reports, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had started investigation regarding sugar subsidy and the FIA started investigation with respect to sugar export in the light of recommendations and findings of the commissions.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is conducting probe on sugar scam, he said, adding that the government had directed all these agencies to submit report before it within 90 days.
He said that the second element after submission of reports was policy making with respect to weakness pointed out by both commissions.
The government has made a committee head by Minister for Industries and Production Muhammad Hammad Azhar for finalising reforms in sugar policy, he said, adding that the committee had so far held six meetings.
Ajmal said that despite passage of over five months of submission of report no improvement had been witnessed regarding sugar and flour prices.
The meeting was also attended by MNA Chaudhry Muhamamd Ashraf, Shaukat Ali, Chaudhry Faqir Ahmad, Kamal Uddin, Shahnaz Saleem Malik, Syed Ayaz Ali Shah, Syed Javed Ali Shah Jillani, and Dr Nausheen Hamid, as well as senior officials of the Ministry of NFS&R.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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