unjab’s farmers are protesting in Lahore and Islamabad for different reasons. The farmers are staging a protest against the alleged forcible acquisition of farmlands for the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RRUDP) calling it illegal and a violation of the orders passed by the Supreme Court in January 2022—where the court had restrained the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) and other agencies from und­ertaking any work on the ground beyond lands that had already been acquired, possession transferred and compensation paid.

The protesters in Islamabad have several demands: 1) restoration of the tubewell electricity tariff of Rs 5.3 per unit and abolition of all taxes and adjustments; 2) eradication of the black marketing of fertilisers; 3) reduction of the price of urea fertiliser; raise in the support price of wheat to Rs 2,400 per maund and of sugarcane to Rs 280 per maund; immediate removal of the blockade of canals and release of water; and award of the status of industry to agriculture.

This is the second time the farmers from the Punjab are protesting in Islamabad in as many weeks. Earlier the coalition government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (the PML-N) at the federal level had responded to the farmers’ protest in a calm manner. However, after some leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) issued statements supporting the farmers’ demands and joining their cause, the government reacted angrily. Minister for Interior Rana Sana Ullah and other spokespersons for the government warned the protestors of a baton charge and the use of teargas to disperse them. He went on to say that they (the farmers) should not adopt the way of the terrorists. If they do so, he said, they will be dealt with in a way the terrorists are dealt with.

Both the government and the opposition have tried to downplay the cause of the farmers—the backbone of Pakistan’s society and economy. Pakistan has a largely agrarian society and economy. More than 65 per cent of the country’s population depends on agriculture for its livelihood. It contributes around 20 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, it provides employment to around 38.5 per cent of the labour force in the country.

Thus, the agricultural sector is indispensable to the country’s economic growth, food security, employment generation and poverty alleviation. The farmers are the backbone of the society and the economy. Despite this, the farmers are not treated with enough respect. Successive governments (excluding that of the Pakistan Peoples Party on a couple of occasions), since the inception of the country, instead of patronising the farmers and protecting them against natural and manmade calamities, have left them to deal with their problems on their own.

The tariff for tubewell electricity has been raised and taxes and adjustments imposed in the name of fuel adjustment charges. Middlemen and the dealers of the fertilisers have been given a free hand to hoard and black market the farmers’ produce. Instead of providing them subsidies on fertilisers, electricity and pesticides, the prices have been increased regularly — e.g., the price of urea fertiliser. The farmers grow the crops; however, the middlemen and the hoarders make profits because the governments fail to design a mechanism for fixing the prices of the crops up and ensuring that the farmers get the benefit.

This has prompted the farmers to stage a protest and articulate their demands. Responding to their demands, the government has agreed to 1) delay and payment of power bills and drop fuel adjustment charges; 2) constitute a ministerial committee to hold meetings with farmers’ representatives to negotiate terms of the agreement; and 3) announce a relief package for farmers in a week or so. This is a positive development. However, we should wait and see whether these are mere promises like in the past or whether the government would transform them into a concrete/ material form.

The other protest is going on in Lahore against the RUDA for allegedly illegal acquisition of agricultural land (and destruction of the crops) for its project RRUDP. The Lahore High Court, in January 2022, had stalled this project by declaring it “unconstitutional”. However, the Supreme Court overturned the judgment and allowed the RUDA to carry work on the already acquired land. It stopped it from acquiring more farmland. The project – the construction of a 102,074 acres city – was inaugurated on August 7, 2020, by then-prime minister Imran Khan. It will benefit the builders and the capitalists but harm the agriculture sector and the farmers. More than 100,000 acres of prime agricultural land will be snatched from the farmers to construct a new city. It will make the farmers landless on the one hand and stop producing food on the other hand.

Food security is one of the major challenges Pakistan is confronted with right now. Flash floods have affected almost a third of the country and ravaged agriculture – crops and livestock – in all provinces of the country. The farmers of south Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa are looking for help from the government as their crops have been ruined, houses have been damaged and livestock killed. However, the farmers of Sheikhupura and Lahore and other regions are being deprived of their agricultural lands for the construction of housing societies. The hoarders, the middlemen and the black-marketeers have a free hand to loot the farmers. The prices of fertilisers and pesticides have increased and the prices of agricultural products have not risen likewise. Lastly, subsidies are being withdrawn.

These developments are constraining agricultural growth, which in turn, can cause food shortages on the one hand and hurt farmers on the other. What the authorities need to do is 1) patronise the farmers and launch a comprehensive plan to promote agriculture; to make laws to stop the horizontal expansion of the cities; and 3) give agriculture the status of an industry. The sooner this is done, the better it will be. The government should adopt and promote the motto: no farmers, no food.

The writer has a PhD in history from Shanghai University and is a  lecturer at GCU,Faisalabad. He can be contacted at mazharabbasgondal87@gmail.com. He tweets at @MazharGondal87