Farmer body for natural sustainable crop system

LAHORE : The Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee (PKRC) on Sunday vowed to lead the fight against conventional farming practices advocated by multinationals across the country.

After a two-day national convention titled “Building a Peasant Movement in Pakistan” held at a local hotel, the PKRC also decided to adopt “natural sustainable crop system”, as an alternative to present rotten agriculture system.

The body elected a new coordination committee and inducted new member organisations. The two-days meeting was chaired by a panel comprising Nazli Javed, Mian Muhammad Ashraf and Tariq Mahmood.

It was attended by 21 peasant and representatives of food producing organisations from across Pakistan. A number of organisations were unable to attend it.

The new organising committee of the PKRC will include the Anjuman Mazaareen Punjab (Okara and Lahore), Akhuwat-e-Kissan Pakistan, Anjuman Kashtkaraan (Khyber Pakthunkhwa), Kissan Karkela (KP), Khoj, Crofter Foundation, Pedaver, Sawera Foundation, Hari Poriat Tanzeem (Sindh), Tameer-e-Nau Women Workers Organisation, Kissan Akath (Rajanpur), Haqooq-e-Khalq Movement, Agrarian Collective, Dastak, Khushaali, Aisaar, Sanjh, Milli Zameen Zada, Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum and Alfalah Welfare Organisation FATA.

The forum criticised the dominant mode of agriculture that was sold to farmers during the Green Revolution.

Asif Sharif of Pedaver and Nusrat Habib of Khoj Foundation agreed that corporate interests had been the main reason for advocating a system of farming that spread poison and destroyed nature. Instead, the PKRC will struggle for creating a natural system of farming, based on rebuilding the natural composition of the soil, which rejects the use of corporate seeds, pesticides and fertilisers.

The PKRC vowed to renew the struggle for land reforms, market reforms, moving towards natural farming and oppose corporate farming.

The meeting also expressed solidarity with the struggle of the Anjuman Mazareen Punjab and called for the release of its leadership, including Mehr Abdul Sattar.

It called for recognition of the land rights of the tenants of the Okara Military Farms.

The PKRC also called on peasants to participate in Climate Strike being organed on September 20 across Pakistan, noting that Pakistan’s farmers have been amongst the most affected ones by extreme weather patterns, including floods, unpredictable rainfall and changing weather patterns.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Dr Ammar Ali Jan, Hshaim Bin Rashid, Farooq Tariq and Muhsin Abdali.

The new Coordinatiin Committee of the PKRC will meet on October 6, 2019, to decide the future course of action.