SAB projects drop in wheat cultivation for various reasons

Cultivation cost is rising, farmers will be forced to switch to mustard crop

HYDERABAD:

The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), a farmer's lobbying group, has projected a drop in the wheat cultivation and the consequent hike in the floor price as the farmers find the government's wheat procurement rate for the next harvest unattractive.

A meeting of the SAB was held in Hyderabad on Sunday, chaired by its vice president Syed Mahmood Nawaz Shah, raised alarm over the issue arguing that the cost of cultivation is much higher than the federal government fixed price of Rs1,950 per 40 kilogram of wheat.

"The farmers may switch to mustard which comparatively takes less fertiliser; prices are higher and give good net return to farmers is higher," reads a statement issued after the meeting.

The board, however, appreciated the Sindh government for offering Rs2,400 rate per 40 kg for wheat.
The farmers at the meeting deplored that the price of the phosphatic fertiliser have doubled to Rs7,800 per bag while no official check is being maintained on the sale.

Additionally, the dealers are hoarding and creating artificial shortages to over-charge the growers.
Farmers also decried the drop in the buying price of the paddy crop pointing out that they sold it for up Rs1,800 per 40 kg last year against the prevailing rate of as high as Rs1,400.

"More than 90 per cent of the paddy grown in Sindh is exported and the recent depreciation of the rupee should have brought a positive impact on the paddy prices."
The SAB although commended the Sindh government's initiative for providing peasants' cards to the small growers owning up to 16 acres of agricultural land, it pointed out that the process of obtaining these cards have been cumbersome.

"Therefore, the process is not gathering pace."
Meanwhile, the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, another officially recognised group lobbying for farmers, has asked the central and provincial governments to come to the rescue of the agriculture sector by subsidising the incessantly spiralling up prices of the inputs.

The chamber also called for action against the sugar mills which fail to comply with the sugarcane procurement deadline of November 15.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2021.