President Chamber of Agriculture Punjab Chaudhry Sultan Ali has criticised the government for adopting dilly-dallying attitude in resolving farmers' issues in sugar industry, resulting into stuck up of sugarcane payments with the sugar mills.
In a statement issued here Thursday, he stated the growers were badly irked over the situation and were losing patience with every passing day. Undue delay in payment of outstanding amounts against their supply of sugarcane to sugar mills has imbalanced their economy and they are left with no option but to start countrywide agitation.
Chaudhry Sultan Ali said the farmers would have no option but to surround the sugar mills and stage sit-ins before the government offices to record their protest. He criticised the government for following anti-farmers strategy of allowing import of sugar to the commercial importers and then letting the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) uncalled for intervention by releasing heavy consignments of sugar into the market.
He said the sugar millers have also been criticising the government for its follies but all such criticism is fallen on deaf ears and no significant change in governments' approach is visible yet.
Sultan Ali urged the government to start buying sugar from the sugar industry and create buffer stocks in order to ensure timely payment to sugarcane growers. According to him, any further delay in ensuring any such arrangement would be detrimental for the rural economy and farmers would come on roads against the government.