Farmers decry tomato, onion imports

Sindh growers say Centre’s decision hurt agro-economy

HYDERABAD:

The import of tomatoes and onions has hurt the agro-economy of Sindh with farmers up in protest against the federal government's decision to allow imports. Growers of the two crops have been taking to the streets in several cities of the province for the past few days to register their protests.

They argue that the excess supply of the two vegetables in the market has led to a sharp drop in their prices. "The price of tomato is dropping by Rs300 to Rs400 per bag daily in the market," claimed Maqbool Laghari, a farmer.

According to him, farmers growing that crop had already suffered losses during cultivation due to hot weather, torrential rains and around seven-week delayed growth. "And now imports have further squeezed our earnings," he added. The harvest of the tomato and onion crops had recently started in the southern Sindh's districts.

Another farmer, Waqar Azim Farooqui, urged people to boycott Iranian tomatoes and Afghani onions.

The farmers also blamed the government for inexorably allowing middlemen to continue their exploitation.

Zahid Ali, a Mirpurkhas-based farmer, maintained that they are selling onions for up to Rs20 per kilogramme and tomatoes between Rs50 to Rs60 per kg to the middlemen. Meanwhile, the same vegetables are being sold for as high as Rs60 and Rs140 in the market, respectively, he added.

Azizullah Dero, a Badin-based agriculturist taking part in a protest, said that they endeavoured through seasons to grow their crops, still, they did not get the right price and this was plunging their agro-economy in a morass.

He claimed that a majority of the middle to low-level farmers in Badin, like many other districts of Sindh, arranged the cost of cultivation through loans with higher interest rates. "The government functionaries know well how our agricultural economy functions. But for the petty interest of a few importers, the government puts hundreds of thousands of farmers and their families in financial distress," he lamented.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Hari Tehreek held that policymakers in the federal government who were allegedly indifferent to the sufferings of the farmers of Sindh conspired.

"When tomatoes were being sold for up to Rs400 per kg in the market, the federal government did not take any step to control the rate," he said. "But as Sindh's crop reached the market, the import has been opened," said tehreek's leader Dr Dad Laghari.

Qaumi Awami Tehreek President Ayaz Latif Palijo, who is also the general-secretary of the Grand Democratic Alliance, also accused the Centre of destroying Sindh's agricultural economy. "When locally cultivated crops reach the market, the prices are decreased to the level, which amounts to financial murder of the farmers," he maintained.

The Sindh chamber of agriculture, a farmers lobbying group, has announced protests for December 19 over the issue, while they also found fault in the federal import policy.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2020.