Govt Reluctant Fertilize Issue
Lahore: 29th June,
2017 - It
has been disappointing to see that; over the past two years, the government of
Pakistan has not been able to deliver the real advantages of the Subsidy on
Urea and fertilizer prices.
Recently, as the government has once again
announced the subsidy on Fertilizers in the new national budget 2017-2018 – it
appears that this will again prove to be a mere ‘Political Stunt’ rather than
offering any significant relief for the farmers. It will fail to deliver
results again, because the government has not made any major policy-amendments
for the relevant institutions or ministries.
After the subsidy announcement in the new budget,
none of the ministries is practically willing to take up this crucial
responsibility, without sufficient regulatory support. The relevant officials
already know that the government has been unable to resolve and clear the major
backlog of previously submitted subsidy claims, which are worth nearly 20
billion. This major burden of delayed payments has already made the fertilizer
industry suffer badly. So, these companies will also refuse to participate in a
subsidy, which is channeled to reach the farmers through the fertilizer
producers and importers
Beside this
challenge, an alarming situation has arises where neither Ministry of Food
& research nor Ministry of finance is willing to issue notification for
newly announced subsidy on Fertilizer. Previously announced subsidy is going to
complete its period by 30th June 2017. With delay in further
notification from concern Ministry will result in withdrawal of subsidy amount
of Rs. 156. Fertilizer prices in Pakistan remained highest in the region,
despite the subsidy programme - a costly and tedious exercise for the
government and the fertilizer industry.
It is important
to note that, This time of the year is considered to be the peak season to best
utilize Fertilizer to increase the yield. Due to the price increase, farmers
will be reluctant to buy urea. This whole scenario reflects weak planning by
the ‘Finance Ministry’ and poor performance by the ‘Ministry of National Food
Security & Research’ (MNFS&R), which are having a conflict of ownership
and cannot devise a simple, fast and effective process for verifying the
subsidy-claims, submitted by the fertilizer companies. This led to long delays
in payments, creating major financial challenges for the fertilizer producers
and importers.
Under
these circumstances, the Fertilizer Manufacturers of Pakistan Advisory Council
(FMPAC) had also approached the relevant Ministry and concern department with
viable Proposal to effectively launch newly announced subsidy by avoiding
mismanagement happened in previous scheme. The aim is to support the Government
initiative and provide relief to already suppressed farmer community of
Pakistan. If Government failed to work out any feasible plan for this scheme it
will prove to be a disaster for Farmer community besides providing any relief
to them. It is advisable to take decisive actions for implementation of this
scheme to take maximum advantage.
If Ministries are steering away from it
now, how can the Fertilizer producers be expected to take ownership of this
scheme. The government must quickly find a way to take ownership of this scheme
and promptly issue notification to avoid surge in urea prices locally. Thus,
the wellbeing of the deprived farmer can be ensured.
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