Delegation apprises official of farmers’ problems

TAKHTBHAI: A delegation of Kissan Board Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday apprised the authorities of the Agriculture Department of the problems being faced by the farmer community in the province.

The delegation, headed by Kissan Board provincial chief Rizwanullah and comprised of general secretary Abdus Samad Safi, Abdul Akbar Khan, Khalid Khan and Suleman Khan of Swabi, Anwar Khan of Charsadda and Sher Ali Khan of Mardan held a two-hour long meeting with Secretary Agriculture Israr Khan in Peshawar.

The delegation told the official that farmers were facing a host of problems due to a number of reasons.

They said that the growers were faced with acute shortage of wheat seeds as no quality seeds were available in the market across the province.

“About 93 percent seeds of wheat crop is being received from Punjab province, which is of very poor quality,” the KB chief informed the secretary, adding that besides other issues the seeds from Punjab were not suitable for cultivation in KP.

He said the environment in the province was not conducive for the seeds from Punjab that was why the desired yield could not be obtained despite spending too much money on the wheat crop.

The delegation demanded the official to devise a mechanism so the farmers could not face shortage of quality seeds of various crops in the province.

The farmers’ representatives also demanded the secretary to restore subsidy on fertilizers, take steps to stop making of fake pesticides and fertilizers, lower prices of pesticides, hike sugarcane price to Rs300 per maund, fix Rs5 flat rate per unit for electricity used for agriculture purposes and provide interest-free loans to farmers.

They also stressed the need for close liaison between the farmers and the officials of the Agriculture Department as it was necessary for prompt resolution of the former’s grievances.

It was told that 50 percent fruits were perished in Swat valley every year so fruit processing plants should be installed in the district to protect the owners of orchards from millions of losses.