Farmers’ body demands irrigation channels repair
Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI), a group lobbying for the farmers, President Nawab Zubair Talpur has said another flood catastrophe seems to be looming after the Pakistan Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) forewarning about heavy monsoon downpour during the days ahead.
At a press conference at Hyderabad Press Club on Thursday, Talpur deplored that the Sindh government irrigation department failed to repair the saline drains, which were ruptured last year due to floods. These drains carry wastewater from fields to sea.
Moreover, SAI president said, the authorities have not conducted desilting of the drains. “The people of rural parts of Sindh are still reeling from the destruction wrecked by the rains and floods last year,” he maintained and pointed out that large swathes of agricultural lands in several districts of Sindh are still under water because of delays in dewatering and the associated infrastructure issues.
He argued that the farmers are also suffering from severe water shortage even though abundant water is available in the province’s barrages. He added that on one hand land in many areas could not be brought under cultivation due to water scarcity and on other hand waterlogging has been a constant problem.
Cotton issue
The SAI’s president deplored that despite their repeated complaints to the concerned authorities no action is being taken against the dealers selling spurious seeds, fertilizer and pesticides in the province. He claimed that in every meeting with the agricultural officers they are assured of a crackdown against such elements but on the ground no action becomes visible.
“The SCA has now, therefore, decided to take this very crucial issue to the court to seek justice for the farmers,” he told.
Talpur also lamented about the lax enforcement of the government fixed rates of cotton, saying the middlemen and factories are paying farmers between Rs6,000 to Rs7,000 for a maund against the official rate of Rs8,500 per maund.
Additionally, two kilogram per maund deduction in weight is also being done. “Strangely, the same cotton is being sold as high as Rs10,000 per maund without any deduction in weight.”
Talpur also bewailed that the power outages are making it difficult for the farmer to irrigate their crops with the help of the tube wells. He claimed that over 16 hours of outages are being inflicted in the rural areas of Sindh even though the farmers are being charged Rs45 per unit of electricity which is very exorbitant. The SAI demanded subsidies on electricity and fertilizer in the areas affected by the torrential monsoon rains and floods in 2022.
Cotton ginners
The Cotton Ginners Association former chairman Dr Jessu Mal Leemani at a press conference at Hyderabad press club on Thursday also spoke about the plight of the cotton farmers who are being exploited with the payment of low rates for their produce. He reiterated farmers were not getting the the government fixed rate of Rs8,500 per maund (40kg). The colluding brokers are forcing the growers to sell their produce at cheaper rates.
He pointed out that owing to the exploitation and other problems associated with the cotton farming, the crop’s production in Sindh has massively dropped from 15 million bales to around seven million in the last seven years. According to him, the farmers do not find that crop profitable in comparison to other crops owing to which they are constantly switching to other crops.
Jesu Mal Leemani underlined the importance of cotton crop for the country’s textile industry which is the largest foreign exchange earning industrial sector of Pakistan. He urged the government to seriously address the problems hampering cultivation of cotton.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2023.