Our largest gathering attracted over 3000 including over 500 peasant women was at Khanewal district where tenants of Punjab public sector agriculture farms came together. Their land, they were cultivating over 100 years, has already been leased out to corporate sector. We came together to declare that we will not let the corporate sector to occupy our land and that we will resist.

These protests are part of our ongoing struggle to defend the rights of small and landless farmers who are being systematically pushed out by state policies favoring corporate actors.

Over 1.7 million acres of land have already been leased to agribusiness companies. These policies threaten to displace farming communities, weaken local food systems, and turn agriculture into a profit-driven enterprise with no accountability to the people who grow food. PKRC and HKP categorically reject this ecocide in the name of development.

The government is also moving forward with the construction of six controversial canals from the Indus River. We fear these canals will exacerbate existing water inequalities and deprive many regions especially tail-end areas of the country such as Sindh, which is already water scarce.

At the same time, the government has refused to fix a minimum support price of Rs. 4000 per 40kg for wheat. Without price guarantees, farmers are left at the mercy of market fluctuations and exploitation by middlemen. Many cannot even recover their input costs. We demand not just an MSP, but a public procurement system that ensures farmers’ livelihoods and the country’s food security.

These protests are not just reactions to individual policies—they are part of a broader fight against a development model that prioritizes corporate profit over people, land, and water. We are building a movement that connects land rights, ecological justice, and food sovereignty.

We thank our international comrades and networks who continue to support our struggle. Your solidarity gives strength to our resistance, and we remain committed to linking our efforts with global movements for agrarian justice and peasant rights.

In solidarity,
Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee (PKRC)
April 14, 2025