Govt urged to give subsidies on farm inputs

Taking part in a general debate on the government's agriculture policy in the National Assembly after suspending the legislative business, including passage of the two crucial anti-terror financing bills, members from both sides of the aisle urged the government to give subsidies on various agriculture inputs and take steps for the protection of growers' rights.

The legislators belonging to the treasury and opposition benches in their speeches while raising problems being faced by agriculturists in the country gave examples of neighbouring India and Iran where, they said, farmers were getting huge subsidies and facilities.

The house began the debate, which will continue till Thursday, after an opening statement by Minister for National Food Security Fakhar Imam in which he admitted that the agriculture sector had remained neglected during the past over 70 years. He called for allocating more resources for research work and establishing high quality research institutes in the country.

Mr Imam said the time had come to bring agriculture in the "mainstream of economy". He said his ministry was discussing with the Ministry of Power a plan to rationalise tariff for tubewells. The members expressed their concerns over the government's apathy towards the agriculture sector which was known as the "country's backbone", regretting that despite the fact that most of the members of the house had an agricultural background, it never got importance in the policy making.

Minister says time has come to bring agriculture in 'mainstream of economy'

The members were of the view that subsidies should be announced on seeds, fertilisers, diesel and solar tube-wells so that the farmers could get a better reward of their hard work. A number of legislators called for devising effective marketing strategy to save farmers from exploitation by sugar and flour mills and other industries.

The members also protested over the absence of the national food security minister from the house and other officials of the ministry from the gallery, forcing Amjid Ali Khan, who was presiding over the sitting in the absence of the speaker and the deputy speaker, to issue directives to the parliamentary affairs minister, Ali Muhammad Khan, to ensure presence of the federal secretary within 10 minutes.

The issue of the absence of minister was raised by none other than Ali Muhammad Khan himself, who said that there was no one in the house and the galleries to take notes of speeches being delivered by the members.

An independent MNA from the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Mohsin Dawar, recalled that during the whole budget session, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh did not turn up to the house despite repeated rulings by the chair. He said the adviser also did not attend the meetings of the standing committees, alleging that he was acting like an agent of the "East India Company".