Farmers for withdrawing sugar factories act

LAHORE:The organisations representing farmers of Punjab have assembled together for the protection of farmers in the wake of what they call anti-grower legislation passed by the Punjab Assembly.

The entire farming community expresses its concern at the passing of the ‘anti-farmer’ Sugar Factories Amendment Act 2021, farmer leaders said here Monday. We have analysed the anti-farmer amendments and have unanimous opinion that these amendments are highly damaging for the farmers as well as economy of Pakistan, they added.

These amendments are 100 per cent contrary to the Sugar Factories Ordinance 2020 which was promulgated on the directions of the prime minister which benefited a lot to the sugarcane growers, they maintained.

Speaking on the occasion, Khalid Khokhar, President Pakistan Kissan Ittehad, Farooq Bajwa of Punjab Water Council and representatives of Farmers Associates of Pakistan including leadership of Kissan Bachao Tehrik said all the farmers of Punjab are thankful to the prime minister for his support to the cause of farming community. They were of the view that the pro-sugar mill Amendment Act issued on 17 May, 2021 has opened the floodgates of exploitation of farmers by mills.

“With this legislation, sugar mills now can delay crushing till 30th November. It has waived the condition of payments of growers’ dues through banks. Instead of making payment within 15 days, mills can delay the payment of farmers for 210 days till 30th June. Offences have been made non-cognizable. FIR cannot be registered. The forum of Cane Commissioner for settlement of dispute of farmers’ payment has been struck down. Crushing will be started late. Farmers will not be able to sow wheat and country will have to import wheat. An estimated Rs190 billion of foreign exchange will be lost”, they claimed.

An estimated amount of Rs73 billion of farmers will be gulped by mills, they feared.

As payment through bank will not be mandatory, the mills will make deductions from payment. An estimated amount of Rs37 billion of farmers will be usurped by mills through their middlemen or directly, the leaders said. Presenting their joint demands, they said, “All the farmer organisations express their deepest gratitude to Prime Minister Imran Khan for taking revolutionary and bold steps for the welfare of the farmers and issuing Sugar Factories Ordinance 2020 which brought immense benefits to the farmers. However, we express our gravest concern at the passage of anti-farmer Sugar Factories Amendment Act, 2021 secretly. We have checked from many MPAs who say that the bill was not laid in the assembly. We demand slogan of “Assembly ko izzat do”. We, the representative organisations ofthe farmers, demanded impartial inquiry into the secret passing of amendments.”

‘Anti-farmer’ clauses be removed from the Act. Offences under the Sugar Factories Act 1950 be made cognizable and non-bailable and heavy penalties be incorporated in it. Without it, the exploitation of mill will not stop. Crushing season should start from 1st November Payment be made within 15 days of supply of sugarcane to the mill. Payment be made through bank account of the farmers. Forum of Cane Commissioner for dispute / claim settlement of the farmers be restored. Legislation on these points be made before the start of budget session. If our demands are not met, we would be forced to stage a sit-in before the Punjab Assembly, they warned.