Swabi [Pakistan], August 10 (ANI): Tobacco growers, along with political and social organisations and residents, held a large protest outside the Swabi Press Club over the purchase of tobacco at rates as low as PKR 350 per kilogram, despite the Pakistan Tobacco Board having fixed the official rate at PKR 750 per kg.
According to a report by The Express Tribune, local tobacco farmer and former ANP district general secretary Haji Tameez Khan burnt 500 kilograms of tobacco bundles outside the Press Club during the protest.
“I have not burnt tobacco today; I have burnt the blood of my children, their needs and the necessities of my household,” Haji Tameez Khan said. He said tobacco growers had already incurred substantial losses and gone into debt last year.
According to him, farmers still owe hundreds of thousands of rupees to wood suppliers and labourers this season and are struggling to determine how they will repay those debts, as cited by The Express Tribune.
Tameez Khan said the production cost of his tobacco crop was around PKR 750 per kilogram, but buyers were offering only PKR 350 per kg. He said this was the reason he decided to stop working and burn his crop. He argued that there was no justification for selling a crop that costs Rs750 per kilogram to produce for just PKR 350 or even PKR 400, as quoted by The Express Tribune.
He further pointed out that tobacco is used in cigarette manufacturing and contributes billions of rupees to the industry, while farmers continue to struggle to secure a fair price for their produce. He warned that if tobacco companies failed to purchase the crop at a reasonable price, more growers could resort to similar protests.
Tameez Khan blamed the Pakistan Tobacco Board and multinational companies for failing to address the concerns of tobacco farmers. He said the Board should intervene and ensure that tobacco companies purchase the crop from farmers at the officially approved rate, The Express Tribune reported.
National Awami Party district chairman Masood Jabbar described tobacco as a major cash crop of Swabi and said that the development and prosperity of landowners contributes to the progress of the country.
He warned that if the concerns of tobacco growers were not addressed, the protest movement would be expanded, with the entire district expected to participate in future protest programmes, according to The Express Tribune. (ANI)