The month is marked by many critical happenings pertaining to political economy of agriculture. The issue of wheat importation as well as lack of wheat procurement from farmers, which had also been discussed in the previous issue, deserves further attention.

Many aspects of the wheat fiasco are worth highlighting. First, that the shortfall in the amount of wheat needed for the country’s consumption need not have been addressed through private sector importing wheat. According to data released, 2.45 million-ton of wheat shortage was expected for the 2023-24 period; however, an excess of 1.162 million tons of wheat was imported in FY24. The government prices of wheat in the market were higher and the private sector was selling at a lower price. Reports point to the Punjab government that had knowingly kept wheat release rate higher than the private sector, due to which flour mills preferred to purchase Ukrainian wheat imported by the private sector. According to the Pakistan Kisan Itehad, based on lower prices of imported wheat, the local wheat prices fell to PKR 2,800-3,000 per 40kg against the government rate of PKR 3,900.

The question is even if internationally wheat prices were lower, the state is responsible for shielding farmers’ livelihood. If wheat crop is not protected from the private sector, it will have a devastating impact on farmers income, as well as grave consequences in terms of ensuring country’s food security.

There are a total of 65 wheat importers in the country (of which 17 are flour mills who also import wheat), with Louis Dreyfus and United Resources Corporation, being the two major importers. The Plant Protection Agency had issued about 1,000 permits to wheat importers. The role of the caretaker government, and their collusion with the private sector in importing wheat has been highlighted.

Apart from the import of wheat worth PKR330 billion (of which 1.3 million metric tons was reported to be infected), there is also further collaboration of the government with the market actors, where PASSCO officials are being accused of selling the bardana (gunny bags) to traders, politicians and middlemen, allowing them to gain profit by procuring wheat at the subsidized rates set for farmers.

In the coming years, there seem to be clear developments for further strengthening of the private sector. According to news reports, the Punjab food department has decided to withdraw from its practice of wheat procurement, and it will become a law bringing an end to the food department’s role in wheat procurement. Further, according to the new policy the private sector will purchase wheat crop from farmers, directly; the government will fix wheat prices based on international prices of the commodity.

Another pertinent issue with respect to wheat production and country’s food security includes the rapid urbanization that is occurring based on ‘flagrant violations of the law’ in acquiring agricultural land. According to a report by Advocate General Punjab Khalid Ishaq, “Pakistan was a leading South Asian exporter of wheat. This trend has reversed in recent years, and it is reported that Pakistan (government and private sector combined) imported wheat amounting to USD 1 billion during July-March for FY2024.” The loss of agricultural land coupled with consistent damage and destruction of agriculture production due to climate crisis, is bound to increase food insecurity in the country.

Humanitarians?

The World Wide Fund (WWF) and Laudes Foundation have launched the ‘Regenerative Production Landscape Collaborative Pakistan’ initiative. The aim is to ‘revolutionize farming practices,’ and business models to address challenges faced by small farmers, especially women. Apart from increasing women’s income, the project will also be a implementing process that can overcome environmental degradation.

Anita Chester, Head of the Fashion Programme at Laudes Foundation has emphasized the “the initiative’s significant scale, spanning over a million hectares globally and benefiting hundreds of thousands of farmers, with specific plans to cover over 100,000 hectares and assist more than 50,000 farmers in Pakistan alone.”

Laudes Foundation is run by Brenninkmeijer, a European business family. According to an article in the Forbes business magazine, the Dutch retailer C&A Brenninkmeijer is considered one of the most secretive companies in the world. It has a sprawling business with 2,005 stores in 23 countries including the Americas and Asia.

One can only be skeptical of mega-corporations in investing in Pakistan, under the guise of overcoming environmental degradation as well as guarding interests of women workers; it is unfortunate that the plight of women in Pakistan is frequently used to launch projects that are meant for profit rather than promoting and protecting women’s rights. The profit-seeking interest of corporations is well known, and without any doubt, they are major actors responsible for the immense destruction of the planet, and carbon emissions that are responsible for the debilitating climate crisis.

The US AID has been putting funds into clean energy solutions. The Investment Roadshow is aimed to promote private sector investment for sustainable and clean energy solutions. It is noteworthy that at another USAID workshop, the dairy methane emission reduction, the US Ambassador remarked on Pakistan being home to ‘one of the largest livestock populations in the world,’ and hence its role in bringing down carbon emissions. It is indeed quite a brazen statement, given that the US total emissions in 2021 were 13.49%, whereas Pakistan’s total emissions are just 0.9%. Livestock is a key contributor to not only national wealth, but also a source of livelihood to millions of rural households, not to mention its contribution to food and nutrition to all citizens of the country. It is such interventions that raise concerns about the well wishes of those investing in the country.

One should also mention that the European Union has also launched two flagship programs for skills development and clean energy in Gilgit-Baltistan. It is indeed remarkable that highly industrialized capitalist regions, who are not only responsible currently but through centuries of dangerous carbon emissions, are so focused on promoting ‘clean energy solutions’ in our country. The impact of climate crisis has continued to be devastating for Pakistan’s economy as well as its people: the heatwave in Sindh has been devastating with temperatures as high as 44- 51°C. In Khyber Pakhtunkwa, school hours were reduced to deal with the heat wave, while people suffering from it flocked to the hospitals.

The Unholy Mantras – privatization, digitalization, liberalization

Pakistan’s development model seems to have certain constants of which of course trade liberalization and privatization are constant themes.

It is being stated that the government plans to privatise all state-owned enterprises (SOEs), except strategic entities. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, at a high-level meeting has stated that “the government would privatize all state-owned enterprises, excluding the strategic ones, regardless of their profitability or financial losses.”

Privatization and foreign direct investment seem to be top priorities at the moment. Since the launch of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) last year, the Council’s name has cropped up frequently with respect to a number of trade liberalization and investment ventures. The Green Pakistan Initiative projects promoting private and public partnerships (PPP), include tourism, agriculture and livestock. Development of Keenjher Lake, Haleji Lake, Hawks Bay and Gorakh Hill Resorts into tourist spots are on the books.

In addition, the Government of Sindh is also discussing the establishment of shrimp farms/hatcheries as well as outsourcing of provincial government’s cattle farms in Rohri, Umerkot and Naukot.

The objectives of private sector investment include improving cattle breeds for milk and meat. International corporations are eager to take over the dairy and meat sector in the country. It is unfortunate that help is being extended to them for this corporate capture. The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nestle Pakistan Limited for research collaboration in product innovation, reproductive biotechnology to improve dairy farms economics, livestock health & dairy animal breeding. Apart from losing indigenous breeds among livestock, the country also faces loss of much needed foreign exchange, as repatriation of profit and dividend by foreign investors has been reported to grow by 250 percent. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, foreign investors have repatriated some $887 million on account of profit and dividend during July-April of FY24 compared to $253.4 million in the same period.

The SIFC apex committee is also assuring Chinese investors for providing facilitation for investment in the mining sector. Other areas that are to be prioritized for investment include minerals, and information technology (IT). In Balochistan, a Free Zone Agriculture Industrial Park in Gwadar has been inaugurated.

In Punjab, with the help of the World Bank, digitalization of land records in Punjab are being undertaken. It seems that development is now hinged to digitalization, which is persistently emphasized in agriculture. 

Apart from the Chinese other delegations that are being entertained include those from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Japan, Azerbaijan, Qatar, and other countries.

A delegation from Saudi Arabia came on a visit to enh­ance trade ties between investors from both countries and identify trade and investment opportunities across various sectors of national economy. According to the Ministry of Commerce, “leading” Pakistani companies would collaborate with at least 30 Saudi companies across different sectors, including agriculture, mining, human resource, energy, chemicals, and maritime. Discussions were also to be held on other sectors such as IT, religious tourism, telecom, aviation, construction, water and power generation.

The fact that foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 8.1percent to $1.458 billion during July-April FY24 compared to $1.349 billion in the same period last fiscal year, is testament to the government’s preliminary success in attracting foreign investors. The biggest investor was China, with FDI at $439.3 million as compared to $604 million in the same period last year. Another important inflow was from Hong Kong, where FDI increased to $297.9 million compared to $206 million in the same period last year. Inflows from the UK and the USA were $219 million and $216 million, respectively, both of which showed an increase from last year.

Apart from attracting foreign investment to Pakistan, other schemes that provide ease of access to modern information technologies are also being floated. Kisan Card schemes have been launched in previous years; recently the IT Ministry launched the ‘CropWise Grower’ application for farmers. It should be noted that the application belongs to Syngenta, now a part of the Chinee chemical giant Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned corporation. It should be noticed that CropWise uses artificial intelligence (AI) providing image-based problem diagnosis, as well as information for all its nearest stores (called Naya Savera) selling Syngenta products. A new scheme for Kisan Card, as well as the Benazir Hari Card in Sindh are also to be launched in the coming months.

In addition, the Habib Bank Limited has also entered a partnership with Agrilift, a Pakistani company that was formed in 2021. Agrilift, according to its company information, is an AI-based platform offering crop monitoring technology. Other such enterprises include the “Bakhabar Kisan.”

Feudalism for the poor, Capitalism for the rich

On one hand, capitalist policies are being thrust across the entire production landscape, especially in agriculture, but on the other hand feudal as well as colonial policies and practices remain for controlling the vast rural population, ensuring that they remain oppressed and exploited. According to Human Rights Watch, the colonial-era Land Acquisition Act is used often to evict ‘low-income groups;’ the 1894 law is used for public land acquisition, which is then often used by government authorities for public-private partnerships, and even for private corporations. It is clear, that while new laws and policies facilitating investors and corporations are enacted regularly and rapidly, colonial laws, especially those guarding land rights of the powerful feudal forces have remained untouched, even after more than 70 years of so-called independence from British colonizers, and are used forcefully against the marginalized oppressed classes.

There is a report of an agricultural worker tortured to death by a landlord. In Pakistan, more than often criminal acts of landlords and those in power often remain outside the reach of law enforcement. The fact that land disputes remain a regular feature in our rural areas highlights the fact that feudalism remains a key feature of Pakistan’s political economy.

After all of the above endeavors of the government to carry out privatization and trade liberalization, the final impact can only be measured based on the socio-economic conditions of the people. According to a research study, conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), the poverty rate in Pakistan over the past five years has increased from 38.6 percent to 39.5 percent. National poverty rate has reached 39.5% while in Balochistan it is 70 percent, in KP 48 percent, in Sindh at 45 percent, and in Punjab poverty rate stands at 30 percent. The report revealed that rural areas have recorded higher poverty rates than urban areas across the country, as the poverty rate in rural areas was recorded at 51%, whereas, in urban areas 17 percent.

These abysmal figures are the crux of the matter. Only when the country’s working class, its peasantry is able to reap the benefits of economic policies can it be said that the government has made people-centered decisions and policies, ridding the country of hunger, malnourishment and grinding poverty.

According to the Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Dr Kauser Malik, Sino-Pak agricultural ties and joint efforts will help address the issue of food security and to learn from each other’s experiences. Similarly, the Alternative Livelihoods Options project, a five-year project worth $1.3 million  finished recently; it was meant to teach women improved agricultural practices and increasing their access to new, alternative crops. According to the US Ambassador Donald A Blome, who participated in a closing event of the project, “the achievements (of the project) are far-reaching,” and has “helped establish fruit orchards, vegetable gardens, greenhouses, and irrigation systems benefitting more than 25,000 people.” In addition, USAID’s Economic Recovery and Development Activity (ERDA) is collaborating with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Agriculture Research and local farmers, in pioneering an innovative approach to certified wheat seed production in District Mardan.

Through the many decades that Pakistan has received back-breaking loans and other grants to help us ‘develop,’ the outcome has been disappointing. In the 21^st Century, when we are confronting climate crisis, global warming is a vicious reality destroying millions of acres of land and livelihood: can countries like the US and China, who have a history of chemical intensive, ecologically suicidal agricultural systems teach Pakistani farmers how to practice agriculture production?

The Food Ministry has announced that no seeds, including genetically modified organisms (GMOs), would be permitted into the country without complying with the prescribed Plant Quarantine Regulations and Seed Regulations. But such a compelling directive is actually misleading. The government is requesting a technical and commercial research report for potential import of GMO seeds for oil extraction and meal production. There is no dialogue nationally on a controversial issue as GMOs, especially with farming communities, while the emphasis is to study global standard operating procedures and sanitary and phytosanitary protocols for GMO soybean seed importation. Apart from the corporate driven Sanitary and Phytosanitary Mechanisms and Technical Barriers to Trade agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO), on the question of seeds, one must always remember that Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement of the WTO. TRIPs and other WTO agreements have strangled agriculture economy of third world countries because, based on these agreements,  mega-corporations of rich industrial countries have been able to capture local production and markets in food and agriculture. Global standards are for mega corporations of the rich industrial countries, and is the absolute opposite of the concept of food sovereignty.

One good news, at least on the surface, is that the Sindh livestock department and the Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tando Jam have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for preservation of indigenous cattle breeds such as Sindhi Kundhi buffalo, Sindhi red cow and other breeds.

In the end, our focus on development is based on having faith not in the peasant class, which is directly responsible for much of the wealth generated through agriculture production as can be seen from financial gain of PKR 400 billion with the increase of 4 million tons of wheat production in 2022-23. Additionally, $3 billion has been earned from the export of basmati and coarse rice this year. The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) has stated that said Pakistan’s exports in rice, and sesame seed increased by 13.5 percent, while the trade deficit decreased by 4.5 percent during the same period.

But the contribution of the small and landless farmers to the economy is ignored, while, there is no end to recommendations on collaboration with government research institutions, the private sector among others.  For instance, the Sindh Agricultural University Vice Chancellor, Dr Fateh Marri has pointed out that over 3.5 million tons of valuable banana waste was burnt every year although it could be used to produce by-products, including fiber, composite fertilizers, confectionery and cosmetics. His suggestion is to form a banana research group comprising public, private and industrial sectors along with research institutes and growers, and hoped that this group could become part of World Banana Forum. The word ‘growers’ invariably means rich farmers, and not the peasantry itself.

At the same time, agriculturists, economists, progressive farmers and researchers have lamented the situation where agriculture sector in Sindh is hostage to commission agents, who, instead of farmers, fix prices of farm products. In Punjab, farmers have been raising complaints on the non-availability of fertilizers, and pointing to overcharging of the commodity by dealers. Urea was being sold at PKR 4,200-4,500 per bag against the government-prescribed price of PKR 3,600 per bag, while DAP prices were around PKR 13,500 per bag, with many police reports being filed against dealers for black marketing.

The Punjab government had fixed wheat sowing target for 2023-24 at 16 million acres to achieve a target of 25.6 million tons, but given shortfall and black marketing of inputs will this be possible? Even if it is possible, given shortage of oil and gas fuel as a critical input for their production, where does it leave us in the long run? The government is reportedly engaged with Russia, China and Azerbaijan for purchase of 0.2 million tons of urea fertilizer for the Rabi season. Is it feasible, given our huge debt, that we continue to rely on chemical fertilizers that are on one hand are expensive and detrimental to climate and soil fertility, and on the other, based on dependency of external sources?

It also needs to be emphasized that infrastructure development is often not finished in time; the caretaker government has indicated that work on the construction of Daducha Dam with an escalated cost of Rs10 billion has been resumed, while three key water sector projects face funding shortfall.

In general, there has been an increase in exports in the country. According to the Pakistan Statistical Bureau (PSB), higher shipments to China, and exports to nine regional countries resulted in a year-on-year growth of 14.3 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Pakistan’s merchandise exports increased for the second month in a row after a year-long downward trend, data released by PBS. In absolute terms, the exports were recorded at $2.70 billion in October against $2.38 billion over the corresponding month of last year (20222), amounting to a growth of 13.55 percent. The textile and clothing exports recovered, with a recorded growth of 5.92 percent, with exports rising to $1.44 billion, up from $1.35billion in the same month last year.

Similarly, raw food products saw an export surge of almost 60 percent in October. Apart from basmati rice, meat exports were worth $152.58 million in the 4MFY24 in comparison to $128.46 million over last year, achieving a growth of 18.77 percent. Increase in meat exports is based on reaching new markets that include Jordan, Egypt, and Uzbekistan.

From February to August, sugar export figures reached 248,854 tons against no exports recorded over the comparable period of last year. Fruit exports, in the first four months of the FY24 increased 13.53 percent to $108.99 million against $96.003 million over last year. All other food exports increased by13.88 percent to $404.52 million in the first four months of the FY24 from $355.22 million in comparison to the corresponding months of last year. In the same period, only fish and fish product exports worth $123.86 million saw a decline of 7.96 percent from a year ago of $134.57 million.

Fish and fish exports have declined. However, Pakistan has successfully secured a two-year extension (December 2025) to continue the commercial export of fish and fish products to the United States. This decision by the US administration exempts Pakistan from adhering to the standards outlined in the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 2016, to offer additional time for aligning fishing practices with US environmental standards.

The result of increased food exports resulted in higher prices for consumers at home. It has been reported that ‘unchecked exports’ resulted in a high food inflation of 29 percent in October, 2023, making access to essential food items such as wheat flour, rice, sugar, meat and vegetables difficult.

Contesting news reports point to, at the least, lack of coherency in food and agricultural directives. There have been unprecedented high sugar prices at PRK 200/kg that resulted in the ECC imposing an export ban from August 10, 2023.A relevant point regarding sugar production is though profits accumulated by the sugar industry, there is big gap in fair prices for sugarcane. The caretaker Chief Minister of Sindh, fixed the minimum price of sugar cane at PKR 425 per 40 kg, whereas Punjab has fixed it at PKR 400 for the same quantity. However, in Punjab, farmers have rejected the sugarcane support price demanding that it should be raised to PKR 500 per 40 kg, at least. Various farmers’ platforms have been contesting the price, as well as highlighting the bias in favor of the industry and not farmers.

Similar tussle is apparent with respect to government policy and industry. The Pakistan Flour Mills Association has rejected the wheat issue price of PKR 4,700 per 40kg announced by the food authorities. The Association pointed out that adding PKR 800 per 40kg as incidental charges to the cost of grain procured by the government at PKR 3,900 per 40kg from the farmers was not fair.

The question of food security is also quite muddled. The National Food Security Ministry has announced that the country has well-stocked wheat reserves, as federal and provincial food departments have total stock of 6.934 million tons of wheat. At the same time, according to European traders, the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), has issued an international tender to purchase and import 110,000 metric tons of wheat.

The presence of ‘trawler mafia’ in Gwadar robbing the local fishermen in Makran of their livelihood is being raised, as well. Chairman Hidayatur Rehman Baloch, Haq Do Tehreek (HDT) has pointed out human rights abuses faced by the Tehreek in advocating for their rights; in spite of promises by the previous government, workers and leaders holding protests have been tortured and arrested.

Apart from the fisher folk facing scarce livelihood there is also ongoing marine ecological crisis which also fails to get government attention.

According to a World Bank study in Pakistan, there was a link between malnutrition and poor quality of water which inhibited the absorption of healthy minerals in the body. According to Dr Alvi, the President of Pakistan, climate and water emergency had exposed the underlying dysfunctions in global, national, and local economies, that failed to produce economic, environmental, and social justice for people. He proposed developing platforms with the involvement of the communities to encourage them to follow preparedness, and resilience initiatives on water conservation

Climate change and rising global temperatures have affected marine ecosystems, as well as fresh water upstream of the Indus River delta. A result has been a decline in fish catch, impacting fisherfolk’s income. The Ministry of Food Security, Government of Pakistan through its Fisheries Development Board will develop a digital link through a website to bring together various stakeholders (farmers, auctioneers, whole-sellers, processors and retailers); the website will be providing fish farmers information on market price as well as demand for fish in in national local markets. Public and private sectors will be supported to further fish production, especially in in Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkha, shortly. One does wonder though, can the vast bulk of fisherfolk engage in such a digital platform?

Pakistan and China are emphasizing controlling livestock diseases, so as to enhance the growth potential in order to increase per animal production and solve livestock health issues. The federal government has provided PKR 36.6 million, Export Development Fund to build a ‘center of excellence’ at an estimated cost of Rs200 million to protect the Kinnow crop against different diseases.

One has to ask, are these measures for the majority who comprise of small and landless farmers, fisherfolk, or is for the rich industrial sector, and the traders?

Pakistan remains a highly indebted country. The past months have shown Pakistan to be near bankruptcy and default. Almost four months down the road things remain on shaky footings. Based on AidData, US international development research institution, Pakistan is the third biggest recipient of Chinese development finance worldwide; only two per cent of China’s portfolio in Pakistan between 2000 and 2021 consisted of grants while the rest was in the form of loans. 2017 onwards, Chinese finance has been mostly for rescue loans rather than developmental projects.

Saudi Arabia has rolled over the $3 billion deposit facility for another year to support State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves which may fall to below $4 billion in case the amount is withdrawn.

Pakistan’s development policy has included attracting international investment. The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has been playing a key role in Pakistan and Kuwait venturing into seven Memorandum of Understandings for investments amounting to $10 billion, in various fields such as mining, food security and environment. Similarly, under the SIFC, leaders of UAE and Pakistan, witnessed by the Chief of Army Staff, have also signed MoUs worth billions of dollars to boost economic and strategic cooperation between the two countries.

It is expected that there will be no roadblocks to the IMF’s release of about $710 million second tranche of $3 billion Standby Arrangement (SBA), most probably to be released in December. However, the Fund, and the World Bank have raised concerns over SIFC, advising against creation of a group of preferred investors.

At the same time, industry leaders in the country want the government to seek other sources of cheaper external financing; the current business environment is difficult due to the high electricity, gas and petroleum prices.

The thrust of neoliberalism continues to be trade and investment, along with privatization. Privatization of PIA, and outsourcing of airport operations are still on the books. Climate crisis continues to be a major disruptive force in economic development especially agriculture. Global warming is ever present, to play havoc with agriculture production as well as communities. For instance, Himalayan glaciers are supposed to lose up to 75 percent of their ice by the century’s end, according to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain. Avalanches, and lake bursts are a feature of Northern areas of Pakistan.

An Islamabad-based climate change expert has pointed to the use of fossil fuels in energy, transport, industries and agriculture for the emission of greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide and methane), which are the main reason for escalating global temperatures. As has been iterated numerous times, Pakistan’s global carbon emissions are less than one percent.

According to the caretaker Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Pakistan is facing a trade-off between raising climate finance and development finance, as seeking money for climate finance negatively impacts development finance. The country needs an estimated investment of $340 billion to address climate and development challenges between 2023 and 2030.

Given the continued price escalation in essential goods and services, especially food, energy and transport, and lack of decent livelihood, there have been many protests happening across the country. While Metrobus security staff have been protesting as they had not been paid their salaries for three months, Karachi University, and Karakoram University students have been agitating against tuition fee hike. In Punjab University, students were marching for revival of student unions in educational institutions across the country.

The brutal war by the Zionist State of Israel continues and people across Pakistan, as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir, have been standing in solidarity with Palestinians across the country. In particular, the presence of schoolchildren in street marches is noteworthy given the US-led Zionist aggression in Palestine has been especially targeting children.

Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots for Equity held the first Pakistan Peoples’ Caravan (PPC) on October 18, 2023, in Shikarpur, Sindh, as part of the Global Peoples’ Caravan for Food, Land, and Climate Justice. There are other caravans already organized for other parts of Pakistan in the coming weeks. The caravans will build up to the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) of the UN Climate Change Conference happening in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from Nov 30 to Dec 12. Similar caravans or actions in various countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other regions are planned throughout October-November 2023.

For Pakistan in general, and for the rural communities of our country in particular, the COP28 provides an excellent platform to draw global attention from the public, mass media, and policymakers to the rural people’s demands to address the interconnected issues of hunger, land and resource grabs, and the climate crisis. Rural people’s movements are rising to confront unprecedented global hunger, displacement, and environmental and climate destruction. They are holding into account imperialism – the global empire of the wealthiest countries’ finance oligarchs and their monopoly corporations. We need to continuously strengthen and expand these movements for truly deep-rooted policy reforms to take place and address the multiple crises plaguing the world’s peoples, including the rural sectors, which are most vulnerable.

Speakers at the Caravan highlighted the plight that small and landless farmers, especially women are facing in context to the extremely high level of inflation, exorbitant cost of agriculture production that is being thrust on them based on the desire for monopoly capital to extract humongous super profits form the most marginalized, vulnerable sector of our society. Rural communities face not only the disastrous effects of neoliberal trade liberalization in food and agriculture but also that of climate imperialism; Pakistan’s monster monsoons of 2022 is one of the prime examples.

In response, rural people movements are rising to meet the challenges before us. We are tackling the unprecedented crises of environmental destruction with staunch determination, global hunger and displacement. Instead of addressing the structural issues underlying these crises and the failure to face them head-on, the UN has allowed monopoly corporations from imperialist countries to exploit the food, hunger, and climate crises to pursue a despicable plan to gain more control over and take advantage of the world’s food systems.   

While governments and institutions are forever promising to support the most vulnerable peasants amidst the ongoing climate crisis, many of the proposed climate solutions and promises are entirely false; in the first place the fossil fuel addiction of the imperialist countries is responsible for some of the worst calamities that rural people face across Pakistan, and the renewable energy solutions are also being used by monopoly capital to further exploit our communities and are resulting in further land and water conflicts across rural communities, leading to the displacement of these communities and the disruption of their way of life, while funneling public resources and shaping policies to fit into the corporate agenda.

We must not allow imperialist powers and interests to manipulate the climate, food and development agenda at the expense of the peoples’ rights and interests. If we want genuine sustainable development, are serious about achieving zero hunger, and are committed to taking real climate action to save our planet, we must expose and oppose these profit-motivated schemes.

We must break the chain of imperialist plunder through (1) breaking the domination of imperialism over global governance, (2) breaking TNC control over our food systems, and (3) breaking away from fossil fuel-hungry food systems.

We must shift the future through (1) shifting the bias of policymaking toward the peoples’ rights and aspirations, (2) shifting the control over lands and natural resources, and (3) shifting financing toward genuinely radical food systems transformation. 

We must work tirelessly to strengthen and expand our movements, pushing for fundamental, lasting policy reforms to address the numerous crises afflicting rural peoples and all working people worldwide.

Released by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)

We mark the Rural Women’s Day with grave concern! Though we are now in the 21st Century, and there is high technological development, the world is facing rising hunger, with rural women being at the highest rung of being the most marginalized, suffering from hunger,  hunger wages, and hunger for a piece of land of our own.

Women farmers, though almost all are landless are the backbone of the agriculture economy. Seeds cannot be sown, land cannot be looked after, livestock cannot be cared and bred, harvests cannot be cut without women. In Pakistan, all food crops, especially wheat are harvested by women’s back-breaking labor, almost all cotton is picked by women, and livestock is cared for by women but even after this hard labor, the rural women peasants are the most marginalized in society.

The imperialist world order dictates neoliberalism as a panacea for our misery and enforced poverty, but in fact, it is the base of our pauperization. From colonization to the present day, we the real tillers of land have been forcefully pushed off our lands. Feudal lords retain control of our land, and with the rise of imperialism, more and more corporate hegemony can be seen being imposed on food and agricultural systems.

It is the fossil fuel, profit-greedy production system that has now brought about the climate crisis. But imperialist powers are unwilling to change the unsustainable production and consumption, and we are left to suffer the intense destruction and damage of our land, homes, and livestock. Not only climate crisis, we also suffer the burden of an astronomical national debt which we never took! The austerity measures imposed by the IMF and World Bank are further crippling the food and agricultural production system.

Our government instead of leasing our land for the export of food should stand up to the capitalist nations demanding debt cancellation, ensuring just and equitable land distribution to the peasants, especially women, and ensuring safe and nutrition food for all that is free not only from chemical and genetic pollution but also free from corporate control. In short, we ask for a policy orientation that would fulfill our demands for food sovereignty, climate justice, economic and social justice, and accountability to the people.

Women Demand Food Sovereignty!

Women Demand Just and Equitable Land Distribution!

Women Demand Climate Justice!

Released by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)

Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Monday, Pakistan Mazdoor Kissan Tehreek provincial coordinator Fayyaz Khan said that inflation had badly affected landless farmers and industrial workers but the government was unable to provide any relief to them.

Flanked by a group of farmers and members of the Tehreek, he said that poor had no other option but to raise their voice by holding protests and setting up hunger strike camps across the country.

Fayyaz Khan said that government should immediately refuse to accept all capitalist, feudal and imperialist policies and the conditions of International Monetary Fund, otherwise the issues would worsen with passing of time and the rulers would be unable to control the situation.

He said that instead of imposing taxes on poor, the government should impose an agricultural tax on landlords and the people owning more than 150 acres of land. He added that the government should also impose tax on real estate and include farmers and labourers in decision-making so that the country could be steered out of the crises and to put on the path of development.

Fayyaz Khan said that owing to flawed policies of the government, people were stuck in the quagmire of poverty, unemployment and inflation. He said that farmers had been forced to abandon farming as a result of IMF’s conditions. He said that energy crisis in the country was also result of the IMF conditions.

He said that the skyrocketing prices of food and other commodities had clearly pushed the working class of the country to the brink of destruction, resulting in an exodus of the rural population to cities.

He demanded of the government to take on board farmers and labourers about the decision-making process and policies to steer the country out of the economic crisis at the earliest.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2023

https://www.dawn.com/news/1774071/govt-asked-to-impose-taxes-on-landlords-instead-of-peasants

Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Monday, PKMT secretary Wali Haider highlighted unending misery of peasants and landless farm workers and said today farmers were being compelled to abandon their land, factories were shutting down, and a staggering number of workers were losing their livelihoods.

“Under the oppressive working conditions, women farmers and workers are enduring economic hardship, hunger, poverty and social exploitation. The skyrocketing prices of food and commodities, especially the soaring electricity bills, have pushed Pakistan’s working population to the brink, forcing rural communities to migrate to urban centres and abroad, often resorting to illegal means, even at the risk of imprisonment or loss of life,” he said.

The crisis had spawned grave social issues and deteriorated law and order in the country, he added.

He informed the audience that farmers had held protests today (Sept 4) in different parts of the country including Shikarpur, Khairpur, Ghotki, Haripur, Lower Dir, Mansehra, Sahiwal and Rajanpur, against the ongoing crippling inflation.

Dr Azra Talat Sayeed of Roots for Equity said the government was responsible for the “intense economic debacle” gripping the nation.

“The PKMT represents the interests of small and landless peasants and workers who vehemently reject the policies of global capitalist and imperialist system. We stand united against the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Trade Organisation (WTO), and their agreements, which have plunged workers, the small and landless farmers into depths of hunger, poverty, unemployment and ever sharpening inflation.”

The speakers regretted that while the IMF-driven conditionalities had led to intense misery in the lives of a vast majority of Pakistanis, the country’s elite class continued to burden the national exchequer with free electricity, oil, gas, and illicit expenditures in the name of state benefits.

The gravity of the situation, they said, demanded an immediate shift towards pro-people policies.

“We categorically reject the government’s rising utility rates in response to the current economic crisis, Rather than imposing additional burden on the people, we demand the government implement an agricultural tax on landlords owning more than 50 acres of land, especially the minority feudal elite, as well as enforce taxes on real estate,” said Mr Haider.

He also demanded just and equitable land distribution as a way of increasing self-sufficiency and government support to local manufacturers.

Allah Dino of PKMT said the grave situation was forcing the poor peasants to seek loans from microfinance schemes at high interest rates that they could not pay back. Consequently, they faced abuse and threats from lenders, he said.

“The government should extend subsidies to agriculture and agricultural inputs, especially electricity, petrol, and essential products in order to bring relief to the working class. Besides, steps are needed to create decent employment opportunities,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2023

https://www.dawn.com/news/1774089/govt-urged-to-impose-agriculture-tax-on-big-landlords

The People: Pay Heed!

• The government is imposing restrictions on fresh natural open milk; new laws have been made.

• The government has decreed it is necessary to pasteurize fresh natural open milk. Without pasteurization, fresh milk cannot be sold.

• Millions of small and landless farmers, workers, especially women farmers and milkmen put immense labor in the production and sale of fresh natural open milk.

• Our small and landless farmers provides not only fresh natural open milk but also milk products such as butter, lassi, khoya, curd, and cream. Apart from this, they also provides meat and leather throughout the country.

• International, hegemonic profit-seeking corporations want to impose legal restrictions on the sale of fresh natural open milk so that they take control of the dairy sector. With this aim, they are promoting packaged milk.

• Fresh natural open milk is a blessing. By giving its control to profit-seeking corporations, the Pakistani population will lose a healthy nutritious food including a major source of livelihood. In other words, an already rich class is being further strengthened and the peasantry and the working class is being further oppressed.

• Let us raise our voices against the ‘Pure Food Regulations’ and ensure the protection of safe and nutritious food for the people and the livelihood of the farmers, the backbone of our society.

What are the Punjab and Sindh ‘Pure Food Regulations 2018’?

The Punjab Food Authority, Government of Punjab and Sindh Food Authority, Government of Sindh have issued the Pure Food Regulations 2018 to impose various restrictions on the production, processing and sale of food. Under this, Punjab and Sindh Pure Food Authorities have issued orders that fresh natural open milk can now be sold only after pasteurizing. For businesses that are producing milk and other milk products will have to undergo a complex process of registration with the government authorities to be able to operate in the dairy sector.

Please note, it is based on the unflinching hard labor of small and landless farmers that Pakistan is the fourth largest milk producing country in the world.

• The livestock sector accounts for about 60% of Pakistan’s agricultural sector and contributes 11% to the country’s production.

• About 80 per cent of milk production is in the hands of small producing groups (small and landless farmers).

• Small and landless farmers, men and women, earn their livelihood from this sector through arduous painful work.

• Ordinary rural households earn 35 to 40 percent of their income from livestock.

• Globally, monopoly corporations in the agriculture sector are aggressively trying to take full control, from production to processing to marketing and sale of foods and food products.

• In the dairy sector (and others), new laws are being put in place, ostensibly keeping in mind food hygiene and public health. However, only 20 percent of households in Pakistan have access to clean water to date. If hygiene was such a priority, rules and regulations for safe drinking water should have been on top of the list, and being implemented rigorously.

• It should be noted that laws on the sale of natural open milk are being made and implemented only to promote the dominance of foreign imperialist corporations.

• This process will deprive the people of invaluable natural assets, food and livelihood, which will further increase hunger and poverty.

No to Corporate Capture of our Milk and Milk Products!