LAHORE: The Kissan Board Pakistan has demanded that at least 10pc of the federal and provincialbudgets be allocated to agriculture, arguing that the sector contributes around 22pc to the country`s gross domestic product (GDP) and provides for the livelihood of nearly 60pc of the population.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Sardar Zafar Hussain Khan, the central president of the board, said agriculture deserved a substantially higher budgetary allocationinstead ofthe 2to3pe shareit was currently receiving in the provincial or federal budgets.

He said increasing the allocation to 10pc would help reduce the cost of agricultural inputs and address the recurring budget deficit.

`Why is the country`s economy being used as a laboratory?` he questioned.

Mr Khan said around 70pc of the population was deprived of basic facilities such as education, healthcare, clean water and food. He alleged that Pakistan was the only country where taxes collected from the poor were being used to provide facilities to the rich. He cited India`s decision to announce support pricesfor 22 crops for two years and said mafias were the biggest obstacle to fixing remunerative support prices for wheat and sugarcane in Pakistan.

The board demanded the government announce a wheat support price of Rs5,000 per 40kg and sugarcane price of Rs700 per 40kg.

Mr Khan warned that if farmers were not given a reasonable return on their produce, the board would join Jamaat-iIslami`s long march with a convoy of 200 vehicles. He also announced a nationwide protest on Nov 5, warning that the farmers would take to the streets if their demands were notaccepted.

Questioning the continued closure of the PakistanAfghanistan border, Sardar Zafar Hussain Khan said it had neither stopped terrorism nor resolved security problems.

Instead, he claimed, the closure had caused economic terrorism against farmers on both sides of the border and inflicted losses of billions of dollars on Pakistan.

He questioned who was responsible for the border closure and why such policies were being pursued.

The farmers`leader also criticised restrictions on urea supplies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, alleged overbilling by Wapdaand declining profitability in the production of citrus and other fruits. He described these developments as more than coincidences and alleged that they were part of a plan to create an artificial food shortage and fuel inflation.

Mr Khan urged farmers to remain prepared for nationwide mobilisation, saying the board`s leadership would soon undertake stormy tours of districts across the country. He warned that farmers could block Lahore`s Mall Road and roads in Islamabad if the government failed to immediately announce support prices for wheat and sugarcane.