Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has rejected the increase of just Rs 50 per maund (40 kg) in wheat support price. In a statement here on Thursday, Bilawal Bhutto said that after five years, increasing the wheat support price by a mere 50 rupees is a joke with the farmers. After the last PPP tenure, all successive governments have ignored the plight of the farmers. During the last PPP government the wheat support price was increased from Rs 450 to Rs 1200. This increase resulted as an incentive for the farmers and we were able to shift from a wheat importing country to a wheat exporting one.
‘Wheat support price should at least be increased to Rs 1,600 per maund.’ Chairman PPP said that the world over, currently wheat price stands at Rs 1,575 while our farmers are only to get Rs 1,350. ‘Governments across the world protect and support the rights and interests of their farmers and agricultural communities but in Pakistan, the exact opposite is happening. Our government is anti-farmers.
