Rains devastate rural economy

Almost 80% of cotton crop in Sindh damaged

KARACHI:

As urban areas drew the spotlight after record rains lashed the country, the rural regions of middle and lower Sindh too faced the terrible consequences of the downpour, which damaged different crops and the overall rural economy.

Districts like Mirpurkhas, Badin, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Talukas of Nawabshah, Tando Allahyar, Tando Mohammad Khan, Sanghar and Thatta have been heavily impacted by the recent spell of rains, said Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) board member Mahmood Nawaz Shah. “Around 80% of the cotton crop in the said districts has been destroyed,” he said in comments to The Express Tribune. “On the other hand, export of onion has been impacted as well.”

Our estimate for losses is Rs. 150 billion plus, in the effected districts in terms of crops and livestock. More than 90 percent expenditure incurred on standing crops, said Shah. Most of the crops including cotton, chilies, Paddy, etc were being harvested, that this happened; the houses, property loss is widespread is in addition to it.

"In some areas, the Rabi Production which is to start in October is question mark. Chili crop, which was earlier affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic, suffered additional losses due to the inclement weather," he said.

Paddy, which is a sturdy crop, also borne the impact of heavy rains in Badin and Tando Mohammad Khan.

Prior to the showers, locust infestation was threatening the rural economy, however, the danger has largely subsided for the time being. “As far as locusts are concerned, the insects were earlier multiplying in the desert area,” he said. “The breeding has now been largely controlled and the insect is no more visible in deserts.”

Locusts migrating from Africa posed additional challenges to Pakistan but the swarms did not enter the country at all, he said, adding that they could arrive at the end of monsoon season.

Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) President Zulfikar Thaver urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to seek assistance from the international community as small-scale farms and farmers had borne heavy losses in the wake of floods in all provinces of Pakistan.

“Without assistance from the government, the farmers may not be able to survive,” he said. He called for immediate introduction of subsidy on diesel, fertiliser and seeds for the farming sector to tackle the difficulties being faced by it. “Without help and subsidy, it will not be possible for the farmers to recover from the setback,” he said. He pointed out that farmers all around the world received inputs at discounted rates because the sector was promoted as the backbone of agricultural economies.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2020.

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