Farmers Protest Across 45 Districts in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan on the Call of the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee
Demands include fair prices for all crops, reduction in rising petrol and diesel prices, restoration of PASSCO, withdrawal of GMO maize approval, fair distribution of water, an end to corporate farming, and agrarian reforms.
On October 18, responding to a call from the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee (PKRC), small farmers and peasants staged protest demonstrations across various areas and rural communities in 45 districts of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan. Protesters demanded fair crop prices, relief from rising agricultural input costs, equitable distribution of irrigation water, and an end to the growing control of large corporations over agriculture.
The Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee demanded a minimum support price of Rs 5,000 per maund for wheat and Rs 700 per maund for sugarcane, alongside fair rates for all major crops. The committee emphasized the need to restore the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) and establish an effective government procurement mechanism to protect farmers from exploitation by large corporations, middlemen (arhtis), and powerful business cartels.
Tariq Mahmood, President of the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee, said, “Farmers are facing severe hardships due to expensive fertilizers, diesel, electricity, seeds, and pesticides. On one hand, farming costs are rising, and on the other, farmers do not receive fair compensation for their crops. Farmers cannot sustain themselves and their families until they get fair prices for their produce.”
Riffat Maqsood, General Secretary of the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee, said, “Our question to the government is: when a farmer cannot even recover the cost of production, how will they produce food for the country? The government must set prices for all major crops on time and restore PASSCO and the public procurement system instead of leaving farmers at the mercy of the market.”
The committee also condemned the massive hike in petrol and diesel prices. Expensive diesel increases the costs of land preparation, operating tractors, irrigation, harvesting, transporting agricultural inputs, and taking produce to the market. This burden falls directly on small farmers and rural communities.
Furthermore, the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee opposed the approval and promotion of genetically modified (GMO) maize. According to the committee, GMO crops will make farmers even more dependent on the seeds and agricultural inputs of multinational corporations, while causing severe damage to local seed varieties and the natural environment.
Farooq Tariq, a member of the PKRC Central Committee, stated, “If the government genuinely wants to resolve the agricultural crisis, it must protect farmers’ rights, fix fair crop prices, safeguard indigenous seeds, and stop handing over lands to large corporations. The solution lies not in corporate farming or the expansion of GMO crops, but in agrarian reforms, food sovereignty, and supporting small farmers.”
During the protests, the issue of water shortages and unfair distribution faced by farmers located at the tail ends of the canal system was also highlighted. Inadequate and uncertain water supply in tail-end areas damages crops and reduces farmers’ incomes. The Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee demanded that irrigation water be provided fairly and transparently to all areas, especially to tail-end farmers.
Protesters also opposed corporate farming projects and land grabbing, which threaten to deprive tenant farmers and smallholders of their land and livelihoods. Rather than handing over agricultural land to large corporations and investors, the committee demanded genuine agrarian reforms and the fair distribution of land among landless peasants and agricultural workers.
Demands of the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee:
- The Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee demands an agricultural system in which farmers—not large corporations and powerful investors—hold the decision-making power over food, land, seeds, crop prices, and water distribution.
- Fix the price of wheat at Rs 5,000 per maund and sugarcane at Rs 700 per maund, and ensure fair prices for all crops.
- Restore PASSCO and provincial food departments, and establish an effective government crop procurement system.
- Reject IMF and World Bank policies that weaken public institutions, accelerate privatization, and strip away farmer protections.
- Reduce the rising prices of petrol and diesel.
- Withdraw the approval of GMO maize and halt the promotion of GMO crops. Protect local seeds, the natural environment, and farmers’ rights to save and use their own seeds.
- Take action against the harmful effects of pesticides, rising prices of agricultural inputs, and the monopoly of large corporations.
- Ensure fair and transparent water distribution to all regions, particularly tail-end areas of the canal system.
- Halt corporate farming, land grabbing, and the forced eviction of farmers and tenants.
- Distribute land among landless farmers and agricultural laborers, and implement genuine agrarian reforms.
The Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee demands an agricultural system in which farmers—not large corporations and powerful investors—hold the decision-making power over food, land, seeds, crop prices, and water distribution.