Muhammad Saleem

Building trust between the farming community and policymakers is imperative for the development of the agriculture sector. Ahtshamul Haq, a progressive farmer, told WealthPK that trust is the strong bond between hardworking farmers and the people responsible for shaping agricultural policies. “This trust is the bedrock of growth and prosperity in the agriculture sector,” he said.

“There is a huge gap between the promises made by policymakers and the reality on the ground. Every year, the government announces subsidies on fertilizers and other inputs, but in reality, little is done to rein in the unscrupulous elements who exploit the farming community with impunity. These elements create hurdles for farmers by causing artificial shortage of subsidised items, which in turn drive up their rates,” he said.

Ahtsham highlighted recent reports indicating that farmers incurred a Rs2.2 trillion loss in wheat as its price plummeted from the government support price of Rs3,900 per 40kg to as low as Rs2,200 this year. This situation, he said, clearly shows that the rulers are not genuinely concerned about the farming community – instead, they only raise hollow slogans in their support.

“We cannot move forward in any field if the trust between the farming community and policymakers is not strong. Without it, even the best policies and the most advanced projects introduced by the government can fail,” he warned. “Though every government launches projects with the hope of obtaining meaningful results, trust plays a crucial role in motivating farmers to work hard to make these initiatives successful,” he said.

“Without trust, even brilliant policies can collapse under their own weight, becoming nothing more than paper promises that never materialise into reality,” he added. Dr Iftikhar Ahmed from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, talking to WealthPK, said that challenges still persist in building trust between the farming community and policymakers. He said that rulers often designed policies with the best intentions, aiming to support farmers, but a communication gap creates issues for both sides.

“The true benefits of government policies don’t always reach every farmer owing to multiple reasons, such as corruption at the local level or a lack of proper awareness campaigns. People may not believe this, but the reality is that we often work against the clock to respond to complex issues, and sometimes the message simply doesn’t get across clearly,” he said.

“In view of these emerging challenges, we need to implement participatory approaches, such as farmer consultations, open-house sessions at district level, and digital platforms for gathering feedback from farming communities, researchers and private companies,” he said, adding that the government must also ensure that its field officers have more direct interactions with farmers.

“Our goal must be to move towards policies that are truly farmer-centric,” Ahmed emphasised.

Credit: INP-WealthPk