Federal Minister for Agriculture Sikandar Hayat Bosan has advised sugar mill owners to end exploitation of farmers and take practical steps to resolve problems faced by them.
"Growers face problems like delay in starting of sugarcane crushing season, delayed payments, exploitation by middlemen, illegal sugarcane purchases, and issues related to weighing machines etc and other such tactics," he said while addressing a seminar on 'Production & Trade of Sugarcane' at the Agriculture House here on Thursday.
Punjab Minister for Agriculture Marketing Rana Qasim Noon, Agriculture Secretary Fayyaz Bashir, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) leader Zaka Ashraf, Kissan Board Pakistan (KBP) Secretary General Ibrahim Mughal, Farmers Associates Pakistan (FAP) representative Rabia Sultan and a number of speakers presented their views.
Bosan said government was ready to extend all co-operation to mill-owners but they should also accept genuine demands of sugarcane growers.
"The government wants to take along all stakeholders, including the mill-owners, but they must reconsider their policies for the betterment of farmers", he said.
Observing that he could not pin much hope on mill-owners in that regard, he advised them to conduct their business with a sense of fair play keeping in mind the fear of Allah.