The Sindh Cabinet has set a support price for wheat at Rs. 4000 per 40 kg in an effort to motivate and support local farmers who have been impacted by flooding to grow more wheat and prevent a famine-like situation in the province.
At CM House, the meeting was presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. Provincial ministers, advisers, the chief secretary, and concerned secretaries were present. Through a video link, a number of ministers, advisors, and special assistants attended the meeting from flood-affected areas.
The decisions made in the cabinet meeting were communicated through press statements by the minister of information.
The chief minister said that the provincial government had paid Rs 9000 for each 40 kg of imported wheat, benefiting foreign farmers in the process. The benefit of the higher price must be distributed to the local producer, According to Murad, who added that “now we have to think about our farmers who have to reclaim their lands from the flood water, prepare it for sowing, and utilize costly inputs to cultivate the crop.”
After careful deliberation, the cabinet members decided to provide a support price of Rs 4000 per kg for the wheat harvest in 2022–2031.
A subcommittee made up of Advisor Agriculture Manzoor Wassan, Minister Food Mukesh Chawla, Minister U&B Ismail Rahu, Special Assistants Qasim Naveed and Haris Gazdar, and Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput will suggest the issue price, it was decided at the meeting. The food department will begin releasing its wheat stocks on October 1, 2022. The subcommittee was instructed by the cabinet to provide its recommendations within a week.
