Punjab govt's relief for farmers: help or hype?

Food-security analyst Adil Mansoor highlights govt's obsession with price control

LAHORE: Last September, as the wheat sowing season approached in Punjab, 39-year-old farmer Ayaz Sami sat in his home in Bahawalnagar, listening carefully to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz speak on television.

"I want to tell farmers to cultivate as much wheat as you can, without fear," Maryam said. "I promise I will not let you suffer a loss." The promise was followed by advertisements promoting incentives, such as free tractors for farmers who expanded their wheat cultivation.

Encouraged by the announcement, Sami, a long-time supporter of Maryam's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), planted wheat on 70 of his 100 acres of land. But by April, as the golden crop stood ready for harvest, the Punjab government quietly rescinded on its commitment.

Under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the federal and provincial governments abandoned the decades-old commitment to protect wheat farmers through a Minimum Support Price (MSP) — a fixed rate meant to shield them from market losses.

For farmers like Sami, the decision felt like the rug had been pulled out from under them. “The cost of producing 40 kg of wheat is at least Rs3,000 because of high input costs like fertiliSer", Sami explained. "But the price we are getting in the open market is only Rs1,800 to Rs2,200 per 40 kg."

Even last year, the provincial government promised direct wheat procurement from small-scale farmers. It later backed out.

The reversal sparked protests across Punjab, with thousands of farmers taking to the streets.

Farmers the publication spoke to say they are deeply disillusioned and won't grow wheat next season unless the government guarantees a minimum price of at least Rs4,000 per 40 kg to recover costs and stay afloat.

In Bahawalpur, 42-year-old Nawaz Baloch, who sowed wheat across all 10 acres of his land, is not sure what to do with his harvest.

"Is the PML-N against us farmers?" he asked bitterly, "Next year I'll only grow enough wheat for my family."

Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan's economy, contributing around 23% to GDP, while Punjab grows nearly 76% of the country’s total wheat, according to the Federal Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

Farmers, experts react to Punjab's relief package

Facing backlash over the price collapse, on April 16 Chief Minister Maryam announced a "relief package" for wheat farmers, which included: a Rs15 billion Wheat Support Fund registered Kissan Card holders, exemption from irrigation and fixed taxes for the current year, launch of an Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR) system, and lifting of the inter-provincial ban on wheat and flour sales

Then, on April 21, she approved an additional Rs5,000 per acre direct cash grant for farmers.

But many farmers and experts say the measures fall far short of addressing the actual crisis.

Zulfiqar Ali, a wheat farmer from Okara, who is a holder of the chief minister's much-trumpeted Kissan Card, which offers interest-free loans to farmers, said the cards had become a "debt trap". "I took a Rs150,000 loan last year through the card", Ali said.

"The deadline to repay it is April 30 — right in the middle of wheat harvesting. I don't even have money to pay my children's school fees right now." Farooq Tariq, the general secretary of the Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee, dismissed the government's package as contradictory and inadequate.

"On the one hand, you're deregulating the wheat market. On the other, you’re fixing prices for end products like roti (bread)", Tariq said.

In the past, both the chief minister and her father, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, made food prices a political priority. Last year, they released videos of themselves personally checking roti prices.

Their efforts were formalised under the Price Control of Essential Commodities Act 2024, passed by the Punjab Assembly, which authorises the government to penalise those who exceed government-notified prices of food items — including wheat, flour, and roti — with fines and prison terms of up to three years.

Regarding the government's announcement to exempt farmers from irrigation taxes, several farmers confirmed to The News that the irrigation tax was already collected by the local administration last month.

Others challenged the claim that wheat can now be sold freely across provinces. "We [small farmers] don't have the transport or the network to sell wheat outside Punjab", farmer Sami said.

As for the much-publicised Rs15 billion wheat support fund, when divided among 542,000 Kissan Card holders, each farmer would receive just Rs27,000 — an amount some farmers dismissed as "a joke".

Adil Mansoor, a Karachi-based food security analyst and researcher, said Rs27,000 barely covers a fraction of the losses farmers are facing right now.

"At current prices of Rs2,000 per 40 kgs, farmers are staring at a Rs300,000 to Rs400,000 revenue hole compared to last year’s rates. This isn’t a relief package, it’s a PR bandage on a haemorrhage."

Another key component of the package, the Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR) system, allows farmers to store wheat in warehouses for four months and receive loans for up to 70% of the grain's market value through the Bank of Punjab.

On paper, it seems progressive. But Mansoor says it misses the mark.

"Free storage is nice optics", he explained, "but what small farmers need most is immediate liquidity, not delayed settlements." However, Mansoor clarified that he was not opposed to reducing the public sector’s role in agriculture, a move he described as long overdue, but emphasised it should be implemented in a phased and transparent manner.

"The current approach [of the government] shows no underlying economic ideology or coherent reform vision, only an obsession with price control", he said. 

He added that instead of reform, the Punjab government chose to release large quantities of wheat between December 2024 and March 2025 to suppress flour prices ahead of the harvest season, which drove prices down by an additional 20%. At the same time, the province's ban on wheat and flour exports further depressed market rates. "None of these decisions indicate that the government believes in letting the market determine prices", Mansoor concluded.

What is Punjab govt's response?

Punjab Agriculture Minister Ashiq Hussain Kirmani told the publication that the Rs15 billion allocation is merely an initial amount, intended for farmers owning less than 12.5 acres of land.

The amount is based on the current number of Kissan Card holders, which stands at 542,000.

"Details of the financial support programme are still being finalised. Therefore, the total allocation is likely to increase significantly, depending on the final list of eligible farmers", he said.

The minister also stated that the Punjab government is moving towards deregulation of the wheat sector. "Wheat prices will no longer be fixed by the government. They will be determined by the market," he explained.