Sindh seeks increase in cotton support price

Provincial govt urges Centre to buy cotton from at Rs11,000 per 40kg

KARACHI:

Minister of Agriculture Sardar Muhammad Bakhsh Mahar on Monday urged the federal government to set the support price for cotton at Rs10,000 to Rs11,000 per 40kg.

Cotton farmers in Sindh are facing significant challenges as they refrain from cultivating the crop as they are not getting a suitable price, leading to severe hardships for them.

The minister stated on Monday that the cotton crop target was set at 640,000 hectares this year. As of now, 20% of cotton sowing has been done in Sindh. Expensive fertilizers, seeds, petroleum products and pesticides have increased the expenditure of farmers.

Mahar expressed concern over inadequate prices received by growers for cotton in the previous season, questioning how they will cultivate the crop this time. He proposed that the federal government set a support price for cotton between Rs10,000 and Rs11,000, aiming to motivate farmers to boost cotton production. He emphasized that offering a competitive price to farmers would spur them to cultivate more cotton, which is vital for sustaining the domestic textile industry.

Mahar added that if Sindh doesn't receive its rightful share of water at the start of the Kharif season, there's a growing concern about potential declines in agricultural production, particularly in cotton and rice.

He rejected the decision to give water to Sindh under the three-tier formula of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA). The province should be given its share of water under the Water Accord 1991.

IRSA has done injustice to the farmers of Sindh by making arbitrary decisions under the three-tier formula. He expressed his concern that IRSA's actions are aimed at rendering the agricultural land barren by withholding Sindh's rightful share of water. The unavailability of water shares can cause irreparable harm to the production of cotton, rice, sugarcane, and other crops during the Kharif season.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2024.