ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has proposed setting the wheat support price at Rs4,500 per maund and urged the government to take urgent measures to protect the agriculture sector from crisis.
In a statement on Wednesday, PPP Parliamentarians Secretary General Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari described the Federal Minister for National Food Security’s remarks about importing $1.5 billion worth of wheat as “alarming,” warning that such imports would place an unbearable burden on the national exchequer.
Bukhari stressed that the government must adopt a realistic policy to avert food shortages and a looming crisis.
He advised the federal government to redirect budgetary allocations and resources toward agriculture, arguing that strengthening the sector would benefit industrialists, traders, and workers alike.
Highlighting the devastation caused by recent floods, the PPP leader urged the government to prioritise rehabilitation of the agriculture sector. He insisted that the wheat support price be announced before the sowing season to ensure stability.
To maximise production, Bukhari proposed subsidies on diesel, petrol, fertilisers, seeds, and pesticides. He emphasised that in flood-affected areas of southern Punjab, the government should provide free seeds and fertilisers to support wheat cultivation. He also noted that the floods had destroyed both agricultural land and stored wheat stocks, leaving millions of citizens vulnerable.