Farmers organisations here have welcomed the Rs 400 per bag subsidy on phosphate and potassium fertiliser offered by the government. Talking to newsmen here on Monday, Pakistan Kissan Council (PKC) President Maqbool Khichi, recipient of presidential award 'Tamgha-e-Imtiaz' for his agricultural research work, said.
This would further reduce agri input prices and augment consumption by farmers and landholders, and help increase production of crops, particularly wheat. While ensuring bigger yields and better profits to growers, it would help the country attain food autarky, he said, and observed that use of phosphate fertiliser also helped increase the grain size.
He suggested that fertiliser prices be further decreased to the Indian level where urea was available at Rs 250 and DAP at Rs 475 per bag, adding that this would enable Pakistani farmers to better compete in the world market after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) enforcement.
The PKC chief also lauded the government announcement that subsidy on urea Fertilisers would continue, and said that Rs 15 billion in subsidy by the government would go a long way in boosting agricultural production.
"In developed countries per acre wheat yield is as high as 80 maunds, while ours is only 25 maunds, thus measures are needed to bridge this big gap," he said, adding that being an agricultural country we have a great potential to increase our national output by enhancing per acre yield.
Last year the government had offered subsidy on phosphate fertiliser at the rate of Rs 250 per bag, however due to increased prices in the international market, the government has now increased the subsidy to Rs 400 per bag so that our agriculture sector does not suffer on this count. Hailing this measure, he said it would encourage farmers to use more phosphate fertiliser, especially during the cotton sowing season which was not far away now.