Small and landless farmers: Pay Heed!

“Save our Invaluable Rural Assets: Campaign for Dairy and Livestock”

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!