ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet will fix the minimum support price for cotton at Rs7,000 in the next meeting, said Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema.
After the 18th constitutional amendment, agriculture is a provincial subject and the federal government has no interference in the sector, said the minister while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research which met with Syed Muzafar Hussain Shah in the chair here on Wednesday.
The committee was given a briefing regarding cotton production and support prices. The ministry officials informed the committee that at present, the price of cotton in the open market is around Rs12,000 per mound. The committee observed that there is an institutional system in the country regarding fixing the support price of cotton.
The committee recommended that the Ministry of National Food should determine the correct procedure for fixing the support price of cotton, estimate the cost of production per acre and fix the price in consultation with all stakeholders.
The Committee also recommended for formation of a Cotton Board in the Ministry of National Food including provincial food departments, cotton and seed officials and other joint ventures.
Briefing the committee, the federal minister said that the Rs7,000 support price of cotton will be approved in the next ECC. He further said that funding from international organizations and institutions is being spent by the federal government on provinces, Cheema added.
After the 18th Amendment, it was realized that food security was a federal matter. Ministry of National Food Security was formed after the 18th amendment keeping in view the food security issues, said Cheema, adding that the ministry was formed four months after the 18th Amendment because it had realized it was not working. We have food security, not agriculture, said the minister adding that unfortunately, everyone asks them about agriculture.
After petroleum, Pakistan’s biggest import bill is for food items, said the minister, adding that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government is doing zero procurement of wheat.
An agreement has been reached between the federation and agriculture secretary Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on wheat procurement, said the minister, adding that the federation is buying wheat in the KP and giving it to the province. If we still do not take sensible decisions, we will not be able to manage food security, he added.
Water reserves are dwindling, said the minister, adding that previous governments gave packages for agriculture, but unfortunately did not reach the farmers.
“We are also under pressure from Afghanistan regarding food security due to the Ukraine-Russia war”, said Cheema, adding that according to a 2006 survey, 90 percent of the farmers in Punjab own 12 acres of land. There is no big farmer and are further burdened by imposing various duties, said the minister.
He urged for setting up a commission to look into the “agriculture matters” and let the truth be told and the blame game be stopped. The cause of declining agriculture is not one, but there are many issues. The government should subsidize farmers to go for solar, he added.
Cotton has been replaced by maize and rice, said the minister, adding that it is wrong to say that cotton cultivation is declining due to sugarcane.
The committee sought details on the budget allocation received by the Ministry of National Food. Further, the parliamentary panel asked for submitting details of the budget received and used by the ministry and related departments.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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