Counter-productive
Perhaps the farmers have opposition politicians, particularly Bilawal Zardari, to thank (rather than the PM) for the generous ‘relief package’ after more than two years of the present government. Or perhaps Bilawal and company are more grateful than the farming community itself; since the PM’s sudden regard for the agriculture sector owes, almost entirely, to mounting opposition pressure. Either way, the package is as sudden as it is ad hoc, practically reeking of last-minute stitching together of various, sometimes contradictory, ideas to placate an increasingly disgruntled lobby. Clearly the N-league did not want the core vote bank in its home province bending any more towards the opposition, not the least because of its direct impact on employment and exports.
Yet there’s only so much an ad hoc plan can do for the agriculture sector. Surely the PM could have done better than wax eloquent about the economy. Suffering as it is at the bottom of the food chain, the farming community has little reason to be impressed by statistics that do not reflect its state of affairs to begin with. But the PM admitted, at least, that the package was the government’s responsibility, not a favour; yet he did not pause to explain the two year delay before the announcement.
The breakdown is no less troubling. Special cash relief for cotton, for example, would have made more sense at the beginning of the season, when the international price was plummeting and local producers were forced into a corner. Similarly, the cash subsidy for fertilisers comes too late in the season, and will do little to placate farmers already facing losses. And how interested small farmers will be in converting tube-wells to solar energy is hardly rocket science, especially considering resource constraints in the present environment. As usual, therefore, another knee-jerk reaction amounts for official policy. If the purpose is to win media points, Nawaz’s policy posture will do for now. But if the aim is to benefit a segment that contributes to the economy, and the vote bank, then the ruling party might soon find this exercise somewhat counter-productive.
