Pakistan: Landless peasants resisting land grabbing for corporate farming projects under the Green Pakistan Initiative
Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee (PKRC) and Anjuman Mazareen Punjab (AMP) held a joint press conference at the Lahore Press Club following a meeting with over 50 leaders from different farms associated with AMP. The meeting was attended by small farmers and landless peasants who are fighting for their survival and against land grabbing. Allied trade and labour unions, as well as civil society organizations, joined in solidarity.
In the meeting, PKRC and AMP demanded immediate and comprehensive agrarian reforms across Pakistan, emphasizing that land should be distributed to landless peasants, agricultural workers, and small farmers as their legal right. “We know how to take our rights,” they said. “We are also fighting a legal battle against these injustices in the Lahore High Court and Supreme Court. We stand with all small farmers, including those in Sindh opposing the Cholistan canal projects that threaten their lives.”
Small farmers and landless peasants declared that they would not leave their lands and are prepared to resist the government’s attempts to forcefully take over their land. “We reject corporate farming, which is a deadly poison for peasants, agricultural workers, and small-scale farmers,” they said. “This policy is designed to destroy our lives, to fill the pockets of the capitalist class and military who are leading this initiative.”
The government’s Green Pakistan Initiative and corporate farming policies have led to the allocation of lands to private companies and investors. This has led to more transnational agribusiness corporations are entering into different agricultural ventures. So far, 4.8 million acres of land have been identified, with 0.9 million acres already allocated to private companies. This land includes 811,619 acres in Punjab, 52,713 acres in Sindh, 47,606 in Balochistan and 74,140 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. These projects displace landless peasants and small-scale farmers under the pretext of agricultural modernization. Green Pakistan Initiative is a threat to the livelihoods of peasants and small-scale farmers, as it promotes corporate farming and land grabbing.
PKRC criticized the military’s involvement in land grabbing, citing ongoing massive acquisitions in Cholistan, Thal, and other regions of Punjab under the guise of corporate farming. Corporate farming has started in Cholistan with two hundred thousand acres of land contracted so far. In Punjab, beyond Okara, 27,000 acres of land at Muhammad Nagar Seed Farm in Arifwala have been allocated to private corporations. This land grabbing is now spreading to other districts, threatening the livelihood of thousands of peasants. Many peasants in targeted areas face intimidation from state authorities, the deputy commissioners and the police, in an attempt to forcibly evict them from their lands. However, resistance remains strong. Recently, in Arifwala, over 700 farmers stood their ground, blocking the police attempting to seize their land.
PKRC General Secretary Farooq Tariq said, “The government is reinforcing the feudal system with corporate farming instead of empowering small farmers through land reforms. This policy directly targets the livelihoods of peasants and benefits the ruling elite.” Tariq also highlighted the environmental and agricultural damage caused by previous policies, such as the Green Revolution, and condemned corporate farming as a deceptive extension of these failed initiatives.
Mehr Ghulam Abbas, President of AMP, declared, “Our ancestors made these lands cultivable over a century ago. The government is now trying to erase our history and rights to serve capitalist interests. We will not allow this injustice to continue.”
Peasants vowed to continue their resistance, stating, “We will not back down. Our sacrifices will protect our land and our rights.” The widespread opposition to corporate farming underscores the urgent need for agrarian reforms to support small farmers and peasants who are feeding the people of Pakistan and form the backbone of Pakistan’s agricultural economy.
Issued by Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee (PKRC) and Anjuman Mazareen Punjab (AMP)