S A H I W A L : Muhammad Hussain, provincial president of the Kisaan IttehadKhalid Bath group, strongly condemned the Punjab government`s decision to prohibit growers from sowing rice before May 20. He criticised the government for failing to protect farmers`rights regarding crop support prices in the open market and now forcing them to delay rice cultivation.

Mr Hussain said that growers had already bought rice seeds and were now being pressured by the agriculture department not to sow them.

He said that the government was pushing farmers to cultivate cotton in regions lilce Sahiwal and Okara, which are better suited for potato crops.

He said that sowing cotton would prevent growers from harvesting three crops a year, which would lead to significant financial losses.

He added that both Passco and the PunjabFood Department had stopped purchasing wheat, while the government had withdrawn the wheat support price, creating uncertainty for farmers regarding double crop production.

He said that forcing growers to cultivate cotton in unsuitable regions would push them into debt.

Mr Hussain said that farmers were already struggling with rising costs of seeds, pesticides, and fertilisers. He questioned how they could be compelled to follow a crop pattern that was not economically viable.

Farmers said that perunit electricity costs had surged from Rs5.35 to Rs60-65 in the past three to four years, further worsening their financial burden. Muhammad Jahangir, district president of Kisan Ittehad, said that government policies were ineffective and did not support small and medium landowners.

Growers demanded that the government regulate input prices if it genuinely aimed to safeguard Punjab`s agriculture.