ISLAMABAD: The delay in devising disbursement mechanism for Rs 32.50 billion fertilizer subsidy under the fiscal package for agriculture sector by the provincial governments has deprived farmers especially cotton growers from getting benefit from the subsidy.

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research (NFSR) Syed Fakhar Imam has informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research said that provincial governments have been asked to chalk out a mechanism for disbursement of fertilizer subsidy. "The mechanism would be evolved soon and rightful farmers will get benefit from the subsidy," he said.

The government had announced a fiscal package of over Rs 1,200 billion to commute and mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Out of the package, Rs 50 billion were earmarked for the relief of agriculture sector. The share of fertiliser subsidy in the package is Rs 32.50 billion.

"Under the package a subsidy of Rs 925 per bag of DAP and other phosphatic fertilizers and Rs 258 per bag on urea was announced but due to delay in devising disbursement mechanism farmers could not get benefit of the subsidy worth billions of rupees," said Rao Muhammad Ajmal Khan, chairman of the committee, while presiding over the meeting.

He said that lack of quality seed of cotton was the main reason of decline in production of cotton; therefore, the government needed to make serious efforts to ensure provision of quality seeds to the farmers.

Ajmal said that the government needed to decrease agriculture electricity tubewells per unit rate as it increased from 5.35 per unit to Rs 11.87 per unit.

To a question raised by MNA Sheikh Fayyazud Din, the minister said that 2019-2020 cotton production in the country reduced by six percent.

Cotton production was 9.86 million bales during 2018-2019, while in 2019-2020 it reduced to 9.181 million bales, 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. Imam said that quality seeds were also needed to increase wheat production in the country.

My ministry has identified 400,000 ton seeds and provide it to the farmers for increasing production, he said.

MNA Sheikh Fayyazud Din said that governments had been ignoring cotton uplift for the past two decades. Due to presence of powerful mafias in the country, cotton crop has been ignored continuously and other crops, which are not in the interest of the country have been promoted, he said, adding that billions in subsidies were given for support of sugar export but unfortunately the support price of the crop (cotton), which is one of the important source of foreign exchange earning has not been fixed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020