Farmers protest rising prices of agri products

TAKHT BHAI: The growers here on Saturday staged a protest against the rising prices of agriculture related products, including pesticides, fertilizers and seeds.

The Shergarh Kisan Board had staged the protest which was also attended by Kisan Board Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Abdul Akbar Khan, Abdul Ghafoor, Noor Mohammad and a large number of farmers. Chanting slogans in favour of their demands, the growers complained about the growing prices of the agricultural products. They said the farmers were not in a position to sow the wheat crop this year due to the skyrocketing prices of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides.

They said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not self-sufficient in the production of wheat and its less cultivation would lead to its shortage in the province.

The protesting farmers said that a DAP fertilizer bag was being sold for Rs9,500 while prices of urea had gone up from Rs1,750 to Rs3,000 per bag, making it difficult for the growers to buy them.

They said the total expenditure on cultivating wheat on one acre land had crossed Rs80,000 mark. The growers said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would produce 35 percent less wheat during this season and this would create its shortage in the province. Asking the government to take steps to bring down the prices of the fertilizers, seeds and pesticides, they said action should be taken against those dealers, who were not providing DAP fertilizer to the farmers at subsidized rates.