Farmers’ woes: ‘Feudalism, corporate farming responsible for food insecurity’
Speakers at workshop demand amendments in the law to empower peasants.
"Despite being an agricultural country, Pakistan’s rural areas suffer from rampant poverty and food scarcity," SCOPE chief executive Tanvir Arif. PHOTO: INP
HYDERABAD:
The feudal system and corporate farming are equally responsible for the plight of farmers and the food insecurity in the country. These views were expressed by speakers at a workshop titled ‘People’s tribunal on land rights in Sindh’, organised by the Society for Conservation and Protection of Environment, Oxfam and Grow campaign.
The speakers accused the Sindh government of flawed policies with regard to land distribution and lease, calling for amendments in the law to empower peasants.
“Foreign countries and investors in corporate farming in Pakistan are taking the crop produce from here to their respective countries. This will cause food insecurity in Pakistan,” said Scope chief executive Tanvir Arif. “Despite being an agricultural country, Pakistan’s rural areas suffer from rampant poverty and food scarcity. This is a matter of great concern.”
Oxfam’s Shahbaz Bokhari maintained that up to half of the country’s population is edging towards food insecurity. He cited the example of Tharparkar, where the drought has affected humans and livestock. “The only way forward is to distribute land among landless peasants,” he suggested.
Former Supreme Court judge Wajeehuddin Ahmed pointed out weaknesses in the land ownership and lease rules. He proposed that possession of the land, distributed free among landless peasants, should be restricted to the lifespan of the lease holder. The government, he added, should take back possession after the death of a lease-holder to redistribute of the land.
He claimed that most of the land distributed by the Sindh government among women landless peasants could not be cultivated for several reasons. These included disputes over ownership and possession, lack of financial resources for crop inputs and unavailability of water.”
The forest department’s chief conservator, Riaz Hussain Wagan, revealed that 47,000 acres of forest land was under illegal occupation, in addition to the tens of thousands of acres that have been legally leased out. “We have given detailed encroachment lists of the people who have occupied forest land and their political connections to the district level vigilance committees headed by district and sessions judges.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2014.
The feudal system and corporate farming are equally responsible for the plight of farmers and the food insecurity in the country. These views were expressed by speakers at a workshop titled ‘People’s tribunal on land rights in Sindh’, organised by the Society for Conservation and Protection of Environment, Oxfam and Grow campaign.
The speakers accused the Sindh government of flawed policies with regard to land distribution and lease, calling for amendments in the law to empower peasants.
“Foreign countries and investors in corporate farming in Pakistan are taking the crop produce from here to their respective countries. This will cause food insecurity in Pakistan,” said Scope chief executive Tanvir Arif. “Despite being an agricultural country, Pakistan’s rural areas suffer from rampant poverty and food scarcity. This is a matter of great concern.”
Oxfam’s Shahbaz Bokhari maintained that up to half of the country’s population is edging towards food insecurity. He cited the example of Tharparkar, where the drought has affected humans and livestock. “The only way forward is to distribute land among landless peasants,” he suggested.
Former Supreme Court judge Wajeehuddin Ahmed pointed out weaknesses in the land ownership and lease rules. He proposed that possession of the land, distributed free among landless peasants, should be restricted to the lifespan of the lease holder. The government, he added, should take back possession after the death of a lease-holder to redistribute of the land.
He claimed that most of the land distributed by the Sindh government among women landless peasants could not be cultivated for several reasons. These included disputes over ownership and possession, lack of financial resources for crop inputs and unavailability of water.”
The forest department’s chief conservator, Riaz Hussain Wagan, revealed that 47,000 acres of forest land was under illegal occupation, in addition to the tens of thousands of acres that have been legally leased out. “We have given detailed encroachment lists of the people who have occupied forest land and their political connections to the district level vigilance committees headed by district and sessions judges.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2014.