Record surge in POL prices: Rice crop at high risk in Punjab

LAHORE-The alarming increase in the agriculture inputs has put the rice crop at high risk in Punjab as the farmers are unable to irrigate their fields properly following a record surge in the prices of petroleum products, growers and agriculturists said here on Monday.
The government has set 5.7 million tons rice production target, which is unlikely to be achieved during this year due to record increase in agri-inputs and shortage of water, they added. Last year Pakistan produced 5.4 million tons rice. Though this year, the under cultivation area of rice is 400,000 acre more than the last year but the recent surge in the diesel price will badly affect the rice production. This year the expected under cultivation areas of rice is 6.8m acre while last year it was 6.4m acre.
According to the growers, there is an acute shortage of DAP fertilizer in several districts of the Punjab where the profiteers are selling it on high prices.
The government has also failed to provide subsidy on the DAP fertilizer to the growers as the agents and dealers are selling the DAP at Rs 3150 per bag all over the province. The small farmers particularly in the Central Punjab have been left with no other option but to stay away from sowing the rice crop due to the skyrocketing prices of diesel and DAP. After worldwide increase in the prices of rice, the farmers this year went to rice farming in the country but record rice production seemed unlikely as the increasing inputs are badly hampering the rice crop.
Chairman AgriForum Pakistan Ibrahim Mughal said that an additional burden of Rs 113 billion has been put on the farmers in the form of fertilizer and diesel. “I see a disaster in the agricultural economy of Pakistan due to the unbearable increase in the agriculture inputs. The alarming increase in the agri inputs will badly reduce the agri production, which will lead to severe food crisis ultimately,” Mughal commented. He further revealed that diesel is applied on more than 850,000 tube-wells and 650,000 tractors in Pakistan. He said that the diesel was available at Rs 38 per litre in February this year but now its price has jumped to Rs 65 per litre. “The farmers are unable to afford Rs 27 per litre increase in diesel price and this (increase) will badly affect the rice production because the farmers have to irrigate the fields by running tube-wells when the country’s agriculture is facing severe water shortage”, he added.