Agriculture Growth Project: Farmers point to lack of transparency

Demand dismissal of project director, initiation of investigation

HYDERABAD: The alleged mismanagement in the World Bank-funded $88.7 million Sindh Agriculture Growth Project has invited the ire of a leading lobbying group of farmers in the province - the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA).

Accusing project officials of nepotism, misplaced priorities and lack of transparency, the chamber has requested the Sindh government to conduct an investigation and sack Project Director Shahjahan Hashmani.

“We condemn the conduct of Hashmani and ask Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah to remove him,” the chamber said in a statement after a meeting in Hyderabad, which was attended by the farmer representatives from Sanghar, Sukkur, Ghotki and Larkana.

The SCA is headed by Dr Syed Nadeem Qamar, who is a brother of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Syed Naveed Qamar. He was, however, not present in the meeting.



The farmer body also blamed Project Coordinator Fateh Mari, consultants Tahira Syed and Malik Saifullah Khokhar for conniving with Hashmani to push the project towards failure.

“An impartial inquiry should be undertaken into the conduct of these individuals and the embezzled money should be recovered,” the SCA demanded.

The five-year Sindh Agriculture Growth Project, which received World Bank’s sanction in July 2014 with a credit of $76.4 million (the remaining $12.4 million is being contributed by the Sindh government) is aimed at supporting the small and medium farmers.

It has selected crops like onion, chilli, rice and dates in addition to livestock as its areas of support.

A focal group, headed by a convener, has been formed for each of the four crops. The support comprises training of farmers in modern farming, breeding methods and distribution of 70% subsidised tools and equipment.

The recent distribution of agricultural tools in Kunri town of Umerkot district, which is the largest market of chillies, has come under focus.

“In the name of chilli farmers, friends and relatives of Mian Saleem (convener of the chillies focal group) were given agricultural tools and equipment in Kunri on July 21,” the SCA alleged. “Even the distribution of equipment took place at Saleem’s factory.”

The SCA general secretary claimed that Hashmani had a stake in Saleem’s business.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Project Director Hashmani acknowledged that chilli drying sheets worth Rs6.5 million had been handed over to around 35 farmers in Kunri and another Rs6.5 million worth of sheets would be distributed after two weeks. He, however, refuted the allegations.

He termed the SCA’s accusations conspiracy of an individual named Zahid Hussain Bhurgari, a Mirpurkhas-based farmer who is a member of the SCA and represents the chamber in the chilli focal group.

He approached me to give his son a job in the project but I refused, Hashmani claimed.

Bhurgari on his part insisted that the SCA represented a large number of farmers in Sindh and the meeting was attended by 100 to 150 farmer representatives from many districts. “Any statement issued after the meeting reflects the opinion of all the participants,” he said.

According to him, the project’s progress remained poor before he joined it in April this year. “In December 2015, the World Bank wrote a letter describing the project’s progress as unsatisfactory, but in another letter this month the bank has termed the project satisfactory,” he said.

Bhurgari alleged that under the project $24 million had been utilised so far and a large sum was squandered on visits, offices, vehicles and commission.

“They completely lack transparency and do not follow World Bank standards when it comes to selecting beneficiaries of the support programmes,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2016.

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