PAKISTAN
Tobacco farmers in Swabi district have asked for the government’s assistance after a heavy hailstorm destroyed their tobacco crops in early May.
The farmers asked that prime minister Imran Khan, chief minister Mahmood Khan, and officers of the Pakistan Tobacco Board send a team of experts to visit the hailstorm-hit regions and determine the financial losses incurred by the farmers and take measures to quickly revive the value chain. Kashtkar Coordination Council said in a statement, “Every sector and industry is being provided relief but the growers and those working in the agricultural sector like us are being left out. The government must provide relief in taxes, ensure earlier payments from the tobacco sector, and extend low-cost, easy loans for growers and farmers.”
The council also said it was critical to complete the purchasing of tobacco-leaf within a specific time period so as to save the crop from becoming totally unusable.
“Without the help from authorities, this workforce of millions of people, who earn their living from cultivation of tobacco, or from factories or trading of related products, will not be able to restore their livelihood.”