ISLAMABAD: The chairman of Kissan Ittehad Khalid Hussain Bath has said that the farmers will stage a sit-in protest on April 19 over low wheat support prices.
Speaking at a private news channel show, Khalid Hussain Bath revealed that the government has imported wheat worth $2.2 million, which has not been used yet.
Meanwhile, the farmer leader said that the local growers were unable to sell their crops.
The government, instead of purchasing wheat from the local growers in Punjab, imported the commodity, Chairman Kissan Ittehad said.
He lamented the fact that farmers have a stock of wheat and there are no buyers, while flour mills are buying wheat at Rs 3000 per 40 kg.
Khalid Hussain Bath also decried the rising fuel prices that have added to the challenges for farmers, saying that the cost of cutting the wheat crop with threshers has increased due to the rise in diesel prices. Unable to recover.
He alleged that the government officials are providing wrong information to Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz regarding the problems faced by the farmers and cultivators of the province.
He said that the government is ignoring the plight of the farmers, adding that they will be sent back without meeting the Chief Minister of Punjab.
On April 11, Kissan Ittehad withdrew from a planned protest after successful negotiations with the Punjab government.
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Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani met a 10-member delegation of farmers’ organizations in which both parties discussed the problems faced by farmers in the province.
The provincial minister met with community leaders and formed a joint investigation committee (JIT) to address the issues faced by farmers.
During the meeting, the minister assured the farmer leaders of conducting an inquiry into the import of wheat during the previous caretaker government.