THE Pakistan Kissan Ittehad has painted an alarming picture of Pakistan’s agricultural sector, highlighting neglect, rising production costs and poor policy implementation. A combination of these factors, the PKI leaders said at a press conference, had caused unprecedented financial distress to farmers besides leading to a big decline in rice, corn and mango exports and, consequently, in foreign exchange earnings. They also warned of an increase in food insecurity due to a potential shortfall in the next wheat harvest — thanks to the abolition of the support price mechanism. Moreover, they predicted an increase in rural poverty and........

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