Farm project participants complain of delayed seed supply

LODHRAN:

Several farmers of Qureshiwala village have complained that they did not receive wheat and vegetable crop seeds in time despite joining an agriculture development project in their area.

They alleged that wheat and vegetable cultivation under the project was affected due to unavailability of seeds for about 800 acres.

Growers Jam Nazir Hussain, Shabir Hussain, Khizar Abbas and Ali Saeed of Pagalwari in Qureshiwala told reporters that they had also sent back substandard fertilizer provided to them.

Jam Nazir, who had topped the district in a wheat production project, said a team of the Food and Agriculture Organisation had been working the area. He said the team provided the farmers timely information and supplies, but there had been some problems on part of the government. He said the distribution of seed was delayed and the farmers could not grow wheat from it.

The seeds given in January are still with the farmers, he complained, adding that they had grown crops after buying the seed themselves.

He alleged that crops shown to a team of visiting officials from the government and donors had not been grown with seeds provided under the project.

When contacted, FAO District Facilitator Muhammed Imran said the organisation of the UN decided in collaboration with the federal government in 2020 to select some union councils of Lodhran to train farmers to adopt modern agricultural methods.

He said the organisation had started providing seeds and fertilizers to the farmers, including women, and giving them lectures. The farmers were given seeds on December 1 to cultivate wheat.

However, there was a delay in providing the seeds to some farmers.

The official said the fertilizers were sourced from third parties and he had found them adulterated during a field visit.

He said immediately asked the farmers not to use the fertilizers and complained to his head office, after which the contractor was fined and blacklisted. The farmers were provided new fertilizers.

He said the problems of the farmers were also reported to the delegation that visited standing wheat crop grown from local seed.

Another grower, Jam Khizar Abbas, said the project was started in the village in April last year.

The union councils of Qureshiwala, Duranwala, Bhootiji, Dera Jund, Chhamb and Kaliar were included in the project, under which 25 women were registered for kitchen garden and 25 men for the wheat and rice production in each UC.

The women were given summer vegetable seeds and the men were given rice seeds.

However, in the winter, neither vegetable nor wheat seeds were provided to the farmers in time.

The farmer said the sowing of the crops was delayed and the growers had to buy expensive seeds from markets.

He alleged that the field officers of the agriculture department had worked only through phone and text messages during the period.

About 800 acres of land was allotted for this project in the union councils.

A local resident said women selected for the project had left their land uncultivated because of the problem.

Jam Khizar claimed that the visit by officials had been arranged in another village because of protest by the women.

Farmer Shabbir Hussain complained, "Wheat is sown in November and December, but we were provided seeds in January when we could not use it," he complained.

Agriculture Department Assistant Officer Rasheed Ahmed said the department had only helped to contact the farmers and arrange lectures for them in schools.

Meanwhile, the focal person for the Agriculture Department told The Express Tribune that the department had provided all the things to the farmers, and that the farmers had been misstating the facts.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2022.