Pakistan, April 28 -- Only in Pakistan could a bumper crop year turn into a neverending horror show for wheat farmers, who look increasingly exasperated at the hands of dilly-dallying government machinery. That wheat prices in Punjab have plummetted even below Rs 3000 per maund (in stark contrast to the support price of Rs 3900 per maund) comes as a grave reflection of how policies, no matter how well-intentioned, amount to nothing unless followed with concrete action.

The uncertainty surrounding the government procurement has begun to make its way to the assembly floor where none other than Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan highlighted the open market operating on a level tremendously below the price floor. With limited yet expensive st...