Pakistan Farmers Protest Today: Nationwide Demonstrations Over Wheat, Sugarcane Prices and Rising Costs

LAHORE: Farmers across Pakistan are set to take to the streets on Sunday as the Pakistan Kisan Rabita Committee (PKRC), a federation of 36 farmer organisations, stages nationwide protest demonstrations against what it calls the government's "anti-farmer" policies, demanding immediate fixed support prices for wheat and sugarcane, Dawn reported.

Main News Report

The demonstrations, announced by the PKRC last week, are planned for October 18 across all four provinces. The alliance's central demands are the immediate fixing of the minimum support price of wheat at Rs5,000 per maund and of sugarcane at Rs700 per 40kg, with wheat rates announced well before the sowing season begins, according to Dawn.

In a comprehensive charter of demands issued by the committee, the PKRC has called for:

• Fixing the wheat support price at Rs5,000 per maund and sugarcane at Rs700 per 40kg, announced before sowing
• Complete abolition of the private wheat procurement system and restoration of official state purchasing through Passco and provincial food departments, guaranteeing purchase of the entire crop
• Subsidised and affordable supply of essential farm inputs, including seeds, fertilisers and pesticides
• Strict state oversight to force sugar mills to ensure full and timely payments to sugarcane growers
• Easy-term agricultural credit facilities for small and medium farmers
• Formal inclusion of genuine farmer representatives and trade unions in all future agricultural policy-making

The announcement was made following a meeting of the PKRC's member organisations, including the Anjuman Mazareen Punjab, Kisan Karkela KP, Pakistan Kisan Ittehad, Sindh Hari Committee, Hari Jeddojuhd Committee, Hari Poryat Committee and Awami Tehreek.

Background Context

The protest call follows growing discontent in Pakistan's agricultural sector over what farmers describe as a widening gap between the cost of production and the prices they receive for their crops. PKRC leaders have voiced deep concern over sky-rocketing production costs — seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and diesel — alongside the government's decision to let private companies procure wheat instead of the state, Dawn reported.

The committee accuses the government of enforcing "anti-farmer" policies and leaving crop prices to market uncertainty, with growers left exposed to unpredictable conditions once their crops are ready for sale. PKRC central leader Farooq Tariq emphasised that agricultural policies formed in closed rooms without consulting actual farm workers would fail to ensure national food security, urging the government to announce support prices before sowing so growers can make informed production decisions.

Reports suggest the private sector has begun engaging in wheat procurement for the first time, with flour mills, seed mills and feed mills purchasing wheat under the government's open procurement policy — a shift the PKRC wants reversed entirely in favour of guaranteed state buying.

Reactions and Statements

"A farmer spends heavily on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and diesel, guarding the crop day and night. Yet, when the crop is ready, they are forced to run from pillar to post just to get a fair price," PKRC President Tariq Mahmood told reporters, according to Dawn.

PKRC General Secretary Riffat Maqsood questioned the sustainability of the agricultural sector under current conditions, while central leader Farooq Tariq argued that policies made without farmers' input could undermine the country's food security.

PKRC Information Secretary Hasnain Jameel Faridi, who issued the committee's detailed list of demands, urged the government to negotiate immediately rather than waiting for the October 18 demonstrations. No formal government response to the demands had been reported ahead of the protests.

Why This News Matters

Agriculture underpins the livelihoods of millions of families across Pakistan and is central to the country's food security — which is precisely why the PKRC is pressing for support prices to be announced before the sowing season rather than after. If growers cannot be sure a crop will earn a fair return, the committee warns, planting decisions themselves become a gamble.

The dispute also goes to the heart of the state's changing role in the grain economy: the shift from guaranteed government procurement to private buying is, in the farmers' eyes, the state walking away from its responsibility. Today's demonstrations are the first nationwide test of how far rural discontent over that shift will go.

For the Shehbaz Sharif government, the protests add a fresh front of economic pressure alongside inflation, IMF programme commitments and the strain on provincial finances — with the politically sensitive rabi sowing season as the backdrop.

Future Developments

Whether the demonstrations proceed peacefully across all four provinces, and how large the turnout is in major agricultural districts of Punjab and Sindh, will set the tone for the agitation's next phase.

Any move by the federal or Punjab governments to open negotiations with the PKRC before or during the protests — a step the committee itself has urged — and whether support prices for wheat are announced ahead of sowing, will determine whether the demonstrations escalate into a prolonged campaign.

Developments to watch include the response of sugar mills to the demand for full and timely grower payments, any government statement on restoring Passco procurement, and whether opposition parties lend their voice to the farmers' charter.

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