Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, President Pakistan People’s Party Punjab has said that the government had done nothing so far to implement recommendations of the All Parties Conference (APC) convened by Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) in Islamabad few days earlier.
He added that these recommendations were the true voice of the farmers’ community and unanimously adopted by all the political parties present in the parliament including the ruling party PML-N.
He stressed the need for declaring agriculture emergency in the country for farmers and agriculture sector, as demanded by the APC.
He further added that the party would take this matter to the provincial assemblies, national assembly and senate to demand implementation of the APC recommendations, as the PPP fully support the recommendations and demands of the growers and it is the only true representative party of the farmers.
He demanded as per recommendation of the APC government should fix an appropriate flat rate for the tube wells. They should fix the support price and procurement prices of agricultural commodities, government should also abolish all sorts of duties on the export of agricultural commodities, moreover the government should purchase potatoes from the farmers. He suggested that the government should give first priority to agriculture sector.
He regretted that the government did not understand the vital linkage between the development of agriculture and the development of the country. “The development of agriculture means the prosperity of the two thirds population of the country, because its livelihood depends on agriculture directly or indirectly,” said Wattoo.
