The government has announced a support price of Rs1,950 per maund (40 kg) of wheat for the 2021-22 crop. Wheat growers of the Punjab and Sindh have rejected the price saying that the input costs have increased massively due to an abnormal raise in prices of fertilisers, electricity and diesel oil.

This year, 24,946 thousand tonnes of wheat was produced in Pakistan. The support for the previous crop was set by the federal and the Punjab governments; the Sindh government had set it at Rs1,850 per maund. It has now announced a Rs 2,200 per maund acquisition price for the next crop.

The cost of inputs has increased tremendously over the last year. Prices of fertilisers especially the DAP, electricity and diesel oil have increased abnormally. The electricity tariff for farmers has been jacked up to Rs 12.50 per unit from last year’s Rs 5.35 per unit; diesel oil price has soared to Rs 142.62 per litre from Rs 107 per litre in September 2020; the price of urea fertilizer has also increased.

For wheat production, a farmer needs fertilisers - DAP, urea, and potassium, Omer Aftab, a farmer and owner of fertiliser business, tells The News on Sunday (TNS).

“The price of DAP fertilizer per bag now stands at Rs 9,000. One needs a bag and a half per acre for the wheat crop; the current price of urea is Rs 2,200 and two bags of urea are needed per acre; besides half a bag of potassium which costs Rs 4,000,” he adds.

Apart from this, pesticides are used to protect the crop from injurious herbs and insects.

“Farmers need to spend almost Rs 5,000 per acre out of their pockets on these heads. Other indispensable expenditures like seed costs around Rs 3,500, electricity at the current rate costs Rs 6,000, ploughing costs around Rs 4,000 at the current diesel oil rates. The current expenditures related to a caretaker and harvesting cost a farmer around Rs 17,000 per acre.

Most of the country’s wheat production area is in the Punjab (71.17 percent), followed by Sindh (13.38 percent). The data of Regional Agriculture Research Institute shows that the yield per acre is slightly higher in Sindh (2,410 kg) as compared to the Punjab (2,316 kg). In the Punjab, wheat is mostly grown on irrigated land. Wheat production from rain-fed areas comes to about 10 percent. However, weather causes year-to-year fluctuations in crop production. Good rainfall means a good wheat crop.

Wheat is a staple food crop in Pakistan, dominating all other crops in acreage and yield. Wheat accounts for 37.1 percent of the crop area, 65 percent of the food grain acreage, and 70 percent of the production. In the Punjab, wheat is mostly grown on irrigated land. Wheat production from rainfed areas is only about 10 percent. However, weather causes year-to-year fluctuations in crop production. Good rainfall means a good wheat crop.

Farmers’ Associates Pakistan director and a former member of Agri Commission Punjab, Farooq Bajwa, finds the support price unrealistic. He says the new price does not correspond to the rising costs of important inputs like fertiliers, electricity, diesel etc.

“Many farmers cultivate their crops on rented farms. Their overall cost per acre crosses the estimated income at the current support price; the estimated cost of wheat production falls around Rs 87,000 per acre which means getting nothing at the end”, he says.

The official estimate regarding per acre wheat production is 33 maunds per acre. However, most farmers hope to achieve 35-45 maunds this year. A farmer can make an estimated Rs 87,750 per acre, if they achieving 45 maunds per acre.

In case of direct ownership of agricultural land, farmers who usually get two crops in a year are left with nothing at the end, according to him. Some farmers who get more than 45 maunds of wheat per acre can make some profit and save something for the next crop but after cultivating the next crop they’d be left empty handed, he concludes.

The government believes that the new support price — which is Rs 150 more than the last year’s support price of Rs 1,800 — will incentivise farmers to grow sufficient wheat to meet the national production target.

The price announced by the government has been rejected by not only farmers but also by the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research. The price recommended by the provincial Food Department (Rs 2,050) too is more than what the government has announced.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research, in its meeting, has recommended a support price of Rs 2,200 per 40kg. The Punjab Agriculture Department too also recommended that the government raise the support price to at least Rs 2,000 to boost wheat growers’ income.

The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) and Farmers’ Associates Pakistan along with other farmers’ associations have demanded at least Rs 2,200 per 40 kg.

Asked how the farming community would react to the new support price, PKI central chairman Chaudhry Anwar said that a support price of Rs 2,200 plus would have made the crop attractive to the farmers and resulted in bringing more area under cultivation.

“Now, farmers may cultivate less land considering the low profit expectation on account of the high costs”, Anwar told TNS.

The Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) on Thursday fixed wheat production target at 28.9 million tonnes, expecting a sowing area of 9.2 million hectares for the Rabi season 2021-22, an increase of 1.4 million tonnes over last year’s production.

Anwer says the announced support price is clearly low and could discourage farmers from increasing the cropped area. “In that case the target set for wheat production might not be met. This could lead to a major crisis next year. The government then end up importing wheat thereby benefiting farmers in other countries”, he concludes.

The author is a staff member. He can be reached at warraichshehryar@gmail.com