Undernourished labour with low productivity

By Saleem Shaikh

Daily Dawn

February 7, 2011

AN under-nourished worker is unable to maximise production. The nutrition level, if improved as required, can add 2-3 per cent to the GDP growth. Experts attribute low productivity in agriculture to malnutrition of farm labour.

The appalling state of malnutrition in the countryside of the resource-rich and fertile Sindh is the result of grinding poverty and low productivity in all economic activities.

Many complain that while tons of grains and other farm produces go waste due to official negligence and mismanagement, millions in the province have to sleep without enough food.

Officials in the provincial food, agriculture, rural development and planning and development departments argue that many plans have been put in place to fight the underlying causes of poverty, create employment opportunities and boost people`s income.

But those, who critically look at such government`s initiatives, say the situation on the ground refuses to improve – perhaps because of official inefficiency, corruption and under-utilisation of development budgets and absence of effective monitoring and evaluation of such uplift plans.

Senior economic planning officials in the provincial planning and development department (P&DD) opine that factors such as mal-distribution of income, transfer of resources from the agriculture to urban areas and unemployment, are some of the causes of low-intake of nutrition by the impoverished people.

Poor households across the province spend around 75 per cent of their income on food and healthcare. A study found that 36.3 per cent of the people surveyed in Sindh consumed less than 1,700 calories a day and another 25 per cent consumed between 1,700 to 2,100 calories per day.

According to the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2006-7, a vast majority of rural households are more than 10 kilometres away from basic services that include district administration headquarters, ambulances and maternal and child healthcare centres and hospitals.

Rural populations` access to drinking water through a range of methods such as tube-wells, boreholes or hand pumps account for more than half of such sources. But only 2.8 per cent of rural households in the province use an appropriate water treatment method, such as boiling or filtering.

An independent development economist, Dr Javed A. Ansari, said poverty and rural-urban disparities in the province continue to spiral up because of bad governance, rampant corruption, inadequate budgetary allocations and their misappropriation or poor utilisation.

He, however, believed that the soaring poverty, which had intensified malnutrition, was unlikely to improve until there was increased investment on health, education and basic infrastructure.

“Besides, there is a strong need to finally put nutrition at the centre of development so that a wide range of economic and social improvements that rely on nutrition, can be realised,” said a senior rural development planner in the provincial rural development department.

The province`s fertile farmlands yield surplus grains and vegetables, but these remain unaffordable for millions of people on account of soaring prices and falling incomes.

Escalating food prices have forced financially-battered families to divert funds utilised for education and healthcare of their children to kitchen bduget,” remarked Dr Fawad Ali of the P&D department`s health section.

Pakistan People`s Party MNA Nawab Yousuf Talpur claims that he has often drawn government`s attention towards people`s social and economic hardships, without no positive outcomes as yet.

“I`ve raised issue of massive grain losses and worrisome state of education, health and ruptured basic infrastructure on the floor of the Parliament. I have asked the public representatives, on a point of order, whether they are destined to ruin fertile and resource-rich Sindh, which contributes more than 70 per cent of the country`s total revenue, accounts for some 65 per cent of oil and more than 70 per cent of gas,” he said.

He recalled that he had also highlighted issue of non-availability of quality storage facilities for farm produces during the last budget speech of the federal finance minister.”

Officials in the provincial food department said: “There are some nefarious elements in the government who foil efforts for building modern silos because they get heavy kickbacks and bribes when renting spaces for storing grains.”

Dr Khalid Pervez, who is providing healthcare services at a health facility in Al Jamkanda village of Karachi`s Bin Qasim town, believes that adequate spending on health, education and rural development could turn around the situation of poverty and malnutrition in the province. But, unfortunately such social spending gap had translated into the grinding malnutrition, rise in health diseases, illiteracy, unemployment, poverty and unsafe water and sanitation.

Sadiqa Sallahuddin, a prominent rural and health development expert of the Indus Resource Centre, believes that remedy to malnutrition in the province lies in increased spending for alleviating, what she described, `wild poverty`.

She remarked: “Despite so many socio-economic uplift initiatives and whatever health budget allocation and spending, Sindh remains the most backward in all walks of life. It is because there are some pro-active forces having mala fide interests, who want to keep the province trapped in a socio-economic mess. However, nefarious designs of such unscrupulous forces are only aimed at watering down/bog down endeavours of progressive forces, because, they are those who want to see the province driven on the path of socio-economic development.”

Landlords, so-called public representatives sitting on treasury and opposition benches, corrupt bureaucrats, mafias, among others, were, among the tough challenges to the province`s overall development. These forces hamper every initiative taken for uplift of education, health and political empowerment of the masses, she believed.

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Canals` Closure Creates Water Scarcity in Sindh

By Saleem Shaikh

Daily Dawn

January 31, 2011

saleemzeal@gmail.com

THE scarcity of both irrigation and drinking water in many parts of Sindh has sparked protests and rallies by farmers, traders and the people whose day-to-day socio-economic lives and standing crops have been affected.

The water shortage has aggravated following closure of canals during the second week of December for de-silting and repair/maintenance work at barrages, canal heads, and regulators.

On November 23, the federal ministry for water and power had announced canal closure schedule for de-silting and repair from December 26, 2010 to January 31, 2011. The provincial irrigation department and relevant authorities were directed to strictly adhere to the schedule and make alternative arrangements for providing water for irrigation and drinking in their respective provinces.

But, alternative arrangements were not adequate in many areas of Jacobabad, Sukkur, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Hyderabad, Tando Allahyar, Tando Adam, Matiyari, Sanghar, Thatta, Badin and Umerkot districts. In these shortage-hit districts, the underground water has also turned brackish because of closure of the canals.

The Sukkur Barrage and its seven off-taking canals were shut in the first week of January for annual repair and maintenance. But, because of lack of coordination between the office of the barrage`s chief engineer and municipal administration, the city and its adjoining areas suffered acute water shortage.

In anticipation of shortage in the Sukkur region, the provincial government assigned the North Sindh Urban Services Corporation (NSUSC) to arrange supply of water to people of Sukkur, Rohri and adjoining areas through tube-wells in a week`s time.

The NSUSC is a public limited company working under the local government. But, a dispute broke out on January 5 over drilling of wells for alternative supply of drinking water when irrigation officials forcibly got the corporation`s drilling work halted and the machinery removed from the sites.

When NSUSC`s Sukkur director Abid Hussain asked as to why they had stopped their work, the irrigation officials told him to approach the Executive Engineer Sukkur Barrage Zareef Khero on this issue.

“But, Zareef Khero when contacted said he had no concern with it,” a NSUSC official said. Meanwhile, this scribe also tried to approach the relevant district government officials to find out their version, but they refused to comment.

A Sukkur town municipal official told this scribe that “against the daily requirement of 16 million gallons of water, the city is getting only nine million gallons.”

The residents complain that much of it is contaminated as it is supplied through leaked and damaged supply lines, which run parallel to the drainage pipelines.

People of different localities fetch expensive water from hand pumps installed in the low-lying areas of the city.

NSUSC Sukkur Assistant Director Manzoor Ahmed Bachkani said the situation was slowly improving in some parts of the city. “Now the closure of Sukkur Barrage is over and enough water is being supplied to the affected residents,” he remarked.

On December 20 last year, Chief Engineer Irrigation of the Kotri Barrage had notified for the information of landholders, cultivators, Hyderabad`s Water and Sanitation Authority (Wasa), civic agencies of adjoining districts and all concerned that the barrage canals would remain closed from December 25 to January 01 for normal inspection, maintenance and necessary repairs. During this period there would be no water flowing in any of the barrage`s off-taking canals namely Akram Wah (Lined Channel) Old Phuleli (Pinyari), New Phuleli (Phuleli), Kalri Baghar Feeder Upper, Wadhu Wah and Fasadi Wah.

But, the Hyderabad`s Water and Sanitation Agency and district government officials and the TMOs of Thatta, Badin and other districts failed to make arrangements for alternate supply.

The people of Hyderabad, Tando Mohammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Thatta and Badin districts have held officials of Taluka municipal administrations responsible for their water woes.

According to reports, more than 800,000 people are facing water shortage in the said districts.

Badin, a town of more than 200,000 people, is the worst hit in lower Sindh, facing water shortage for more than 45 days. Standing vegetable and Rabi crops in and around the area are also at the risk of being damaged.

Lar Abadgar Board`s Amin Memon said: “The locals never opposed de-silting and maintenance work at the Qazia Canal, which is the chief source of drinking water for the people of Badin city and its adjoining areas. But alterative arrangements for water supply should have been made by the TMA.”

Water scarcity had equally affected the people and farmers as seedlings of tomato and other vegetables were drying up due to zero availability of water in canals and distributaries. Besides, fish farmers have also suffered massive losses because of short supply of fresh water,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, senior officials at the Kotri Barrage told this scribe on phone that water shortage situation downstream Kotri Barrage districts was unlikely to improve before mid-February as the repair/maintenance work would take another two or three weeks.

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Rise in urea price frustrates Rabi Growers in Sindh

By Saleem Shaikh
January 6, 2011
Recent 23 per cent rise in prices of urea fertiliser, an important farm input and cause of good farm yield, its black marketing and hoarding hoarding have frustrated the Rabi growers, who are struggling to help flood-hit agriculture sector recover. The farmers have called for withdrawal of the undue increase in urea prices; otherwise, it would affect the farm production adversely.

The farmers’ leaders blame agriculture and district government officials are working hands in gloves with those traders involved in hoarding, black marketing of the urea and phosphate fertilisers.

Unavailability of the urea to the farmers in time and at the appropriate prices would only hurt yields of the Rabi crops and intensify food insecurity further in the province.

“The issue of rising urea prices, its black marketing and hoarding has been raised with the local agriculture officials and those sitting on the government benches in the Sindh Assembly. But, our complaints have gone unheeded and unaddressed,” said Akhund Ghulam Mohammad, general secretary of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA).

The growers would be compelled to reduce use of urea in their fields, if recent rise was not withdrawn, he said.

Random conversations with growers point to the fact that they have significantly reduced application of fertilisers because their prices have been steadily spiraling, which has emerged to be, among others, a main cause of falling levels of yields of Rabi and Kharif crops.

Till October 30, the urea (Sona FFC brand) was selling between Rs850-Rs853 per bag of 50 kilogramme while another prominent urea brand (Urea Kissan of NFC) was at around Rs830 per bag of the same quantity across the province.

But, the manufacturers increased the urea prices to Rs1,040/per bag. But, traders in different parts of the province have further increased the urea price on their own and are selling between Rs1100-Rs1200.

So much so, the fertiliser traders have also induldged in artificial shortage of the key farm inputs at the time when the fields, on which the Rabi crops are being sown, direly need them (farm inputs).

Reports have also poured in that the fertiliser dealers are not keeping urea stocks in their godowns and instead allegedly hiding it elsewhere to earn huge profits.

“Despite provincial agriculture department’s clear instructions, the dealers have failed to maintain stocks of urea in their godowns and every time we visit their storage houses they tell us that they are out of stocks,” Said Nabi Khan Brohi, leader of Sindh Abadgar Board in Shahdadkot.

They growers have also slammed the district administrations, where black marketing and hoarding have become rampant despite escalation in its prices.

It is matter of disappointment that the role of agriculture deparment and DCOs is equal to nothing and they hardly visit the markets to contain the artificial shortage of the fertilisers and escalation in their prices. This has situation has rather encouraged the unscrupulous traders to exploite hapeless farmers, said disgruntled growers.

“We have brought the matter into notice of the district administrations and agriculture department officials to crack down on the hoarders, profiteers and unscrupulous traders, who are involved in unlawful price hike of the urea. But, the officials are reluctant to take action against them,” said Meher Ali Tunio, a prominent wheat grower in Larkana.

When contacted, some district coordination officers voiced their ignorance about the black marketing, hoarding and rise in their prices and refused to comment on the matter other than saying that they were trying to resolve the problems of the farmers.

Nevertheless, other district government officials of Shikarpur, Shahdadkot and Larkana districts said that if such was the situation then they would definitely bring such unscrupulous traders to book.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Abadgar Board has warned the Sindh government and the fertiliser manufacturers that it would move the Sindh High Court against them, if the unjust and arbitrary rise in urea prices was not withdrawn and its artificial shortage not brought to an end.



Abdul Majeed Nizamni, president Sindh Abadgar Board, said that recent hike in urea prices would force growers to cut the use of the urea, which could cause decline of some 2.72 million tons in overall production of Rabi crops.

“If the urea prices are not brought down to Rs850/ bag, then it would increase the food export bill to $6 billion for the FY 2010-11,” he forewarned.

The total food import bill has touched $2.15 billion in July-Nov, 2010 as compared to $1.3 billion in the same period of 2009.

Member of SCA, Anwar Bachani, said that the chamber had already informed the federal government about the unjust hike in the urea price but it discovered that it had no idea about the gravity of the situation and the prices have been hiked without seeking permission of the federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal).

Growers’ leaders believe that that repeated hikes in prices of fertilisers by the manufacturers without informing the relevant government departments was all happening due to absence of an effective regulatory body.

An official in the provincial agriculture department admits that some weeks back the fertiliser manufacturers had informed the federal government that there would be urea shortage of 250,000 tons and suggested its import to avoid the shortage or upsurge in prices.

“But, the Minfal ministry was hardly moved by the intimation and did not responded to the fast unfolding situation of urea shortage, which has led to the escalation of its prices,” said a senior official in the Sindh agriculture deparment, who preferred anonymity.

However, the farmers’ representatives have warned of steep fall in Rabi output, if the urea and phosphate was not available to the farmers in required quantity at the pre-November 2010 rates.

Enforcing new fisheries law

By Saleem Shaikh

January 24, 2011

WHILE fishermen across Sindh have welcomed the abolition of contract/lease system for water bodies, they have urged the provincial government to enforce effectively the licensing system for their rehabilitation. They fear resistance from the legally but not physically displaced influential ex-stakeholders.
On January 14, the Sindh Assembly unanimously passed the Sindh Fisheries Amended Bill 2011, tabled by Sindh Fisheries Minister Zahid Ali Bhurgari to replace the contract/lease system with the licence system.
The licence system, first introduced in 1977, to regulate fisheries was replaced with the contract/lease system under the Sindh Fisheries Ordinance 1980.The section 3[1] of the ordinance 1980 reads as: “Government may, by general or special order, grant licence or lease for fishing in any public waters on such terms and conditions and on payment of such fees as may be prescribed.” While section 3 [2] reads as: “Where a lease has been granted under sub-section [1], the lease-holders may issue permits for fishing in the leased waters, in such form and subject to such conditions and on payment of such fees, as may be prescribed.”
But, this provision was widely abused by government officials and water bodies were auctioned to only influential people while local fishermen were deprived of their right to fish.
“In the beginning, this exploitative (contract) system was introduced on few fishing lakes, but gradually more and more lakes were brought under this system,” said Sami Shah, spokesman for the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF).
In its district-level survey, conducted after the recent floods, the PFF found that around 300 out of 1,209 water bodies were under illegal control of influential people while several others had been contracted to politicians, landlords and others.
The licensing system, fishermen believe, will help revive sustainable use of fisheries resources of the province’s 1209 public water bodies and improve their livelihood. Before the contract system, these water bodies provided livelihood to some 0.5 million fishermen.
Tabling the amended bill in the provincial assembly on January 14, provincial fisheries minister Zahid Bhurgari said the contract system had worsened the socio-economic condition of fishermen. He hoped that the licensing system would help restore the livelihood of fishermen and check unsustainable fishing practices in sweet water bodies.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum’s chairman Mohammad Ali Shah has said: “We would now push the government for effective implementation of the amended act.”
Shah added that it was the birth right of fishermen to catch fish from the waters where they live and the government’s role was to protect their rights at any cost.
Officials in the provincial fisheries department, who are not sure if the amended act shall be enforced effectively, also term retrieving possession of the contracted water bodies ‘no less than any challenging task’.
“Getting back possession of the contracted water bodies from the clutches of influential contractors to whom the leases were awarded – mostly on political grounds – is really a daunting and risky task,” said a senior official, who contributed actively in the abolition of the contract system.
But, the fisheries minister appears determined to embark upon the task fraught with perils.
“District level committees, comprising MPAs and MNAs, shall be set up to help the local administration get back control of the contracted water bodies from the contractors,” said the Sindh Fisheries Minister Zahid Bhurgari.
To ensure implementation of the Sindh Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2011, the provincial lawmakers have underscored the need for ensuring close coordination between relevant departments.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/24/enforcing-new-fisheries-law-2.html

Fall in onion price

By Saleem Shaikh

January 17, 2011

ALTHOUGH onion exporters, traders and growers have been hit by partial ban on export to India, consumers have heaved a sigh of relief after significant decline in the retail prices of the commodity across Sindh.On January 4, the government banned export of onion to India via land route but, yieldeding to exporters’ pressure on January 12, allowed them to honour their contracts reached before the ban and send their consignments to India through Wagah.
While traders wanted withdrawal of the ban, officials in the federal commerce ministry saw dim chances of any such thing to happen.
Officials argue that the country was hit by low onion output and the new crop was not expected in local markets from Punjab before March. Export at this pointof time would escalate onion price in the market.
“The ban has been imposed in view of the possible onion shortage in local markets because of low output in Sindh and Balochistan as tens of thousands of acres under onion crop was washed away by floods,” remarked a Minfal official.
According to market reports, on January 4 some 300 truckloads of onion were stopped at the Wagah border from entering India.
Saud Khan said 300 trucks, stuck up at Wagah border, were each loaded with some 300 maunds of onion. The exporters estimate that the value of their held uponion at the Wagah border is at around Rs140-150 million. The vegetable exporters who procured the onion at around Rs2,100-2,200 per maund from thegrowers would have suffered hefty financial losses, if their consignments of surplus onion were not allowed to enter India, he remarked.
However, the relaxation was only for the orders for which the letters of intents were issued and exporters had received money from India.
“The impact of the ban has already been felt in Nasarpur, the country’s largest onion producing area. The onion prices have sharply declined by about Rs800 per 40kg in the Nasarpur wholesale market. Prior to the ban, the commodity was trading at Rs2,200 per maund,” said Nabi Bakhsh, an onion trader in Matyari district.
The exporters also maintain that there was an abundant quantity of onion in excess of the domestic market demand which they wanted to export.
But Abdul Waheed Ahmad, former president of the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchant Association, has highlighted another side of the story. He said that the quality issue is also the cause, which prompted the ban.
“There are reports that the growers harvested pre-mature onion crop for sale to exporters, which is destined to rot and be rejected by the Indian traders once it reached across the border market,” he remarked.
Waheed told this scribe on phone that the onion export was continuing through the sea and air routes to India and export target of 600,000 tons would be easily achieved.
Meanwhile, the ban on onion export has brought down the prices of the commodity which had peaked in December last year because of low crop output in the provinces.
Onion which was selling above Rs70-80 per kg in September last year, was now selling at Rs20-25 per kg in retail markets.
The retail and wholesale vegetable traders say the prices are likely to fall further to as low as Rs15 per kg when new onion crop will arrive from Punjab in March.
High prices of onion during November-December last year led to reduced consumption, and its sale declined significantly in the domestic market, recalled Ali Ahmad Shah, a vegetable trader at the Sabzi Mandi in Karachi. “But now its sale has improved and is increasing day by day, thanks to a significant fall in prices following the ban,” he noted.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/17/fall-in-onion-price-2.html

Sugarcane price war spurs gur making

By Saleem Shaikh
January 10, 2011
TO avoid financial losses because of slow off-take of cane by sugar mills and encouraged by rising market prices, cane growers in Sindh have geared up gur making.
The protracted cane price issue between the growers and the millers is hurting the cane crushing activity and has left sizeable crop standing in the fields.
While passing through the right bank districts during last week of December, this scribe witnessed cane crop standing over tens of thousands of acres, while gur making was going on in full swing in scattered cane-growing areas.
The right bank districts of Khairpur Mir’s, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Matiyari, Tando Mohammad Khan and Tando Allahyar are major cane-growing areas and together account for over 70 per cent of the total produce of the province.
A gur dealer, Hussain Ali Qureshi, in western Khairpur Mir’s district told this scribe on phone that on average 200-300 maunds of freshly-produced gur was being brought to local gur market in Pir-Jo-Goth of the district.
Similar reports of freshly-prepared gur’s availability in local markets from different cane-growing districts indicate low sugar production during this cane crushing season.
“Why should we sell our produce to millers who cannot pay fair just prices and often delay payments and default on our dues? So far selling cane to exploitative millers has not proved beneficial on many counts,” said Shahid Ali, a cane-grower in Sanghar district.
“I have sown cane on 450 acres this year but millers refused to pick up the produce even at Rs250 per maund.
They offered a price of Rs180 per 40 kg, which I rejected and preferred making gur,” he said.
“I have engaged my farmer tenants on daily wages for making gur. I have so far received orders for 2,000 maunds from local traders and expect more in days ahead,” he said. On reports of reduction in cane crushing, gur prices have shot up and are rising steadily,” he said.
The traders in the Karachi’s wholesale market are procuring gur between Rs3,200-Rs3,400 per 40kg. “The wholesale prices are bound to rise beyond Rs3,600-3,800 per maund in coming days, because reports of reduced sugar production have already reached the wholesale market.
In view of the scary future scenario of sugar availability, more and more gur traders and exporters are vying for procuring as much gur as possible,” said Mohammad Hanif, a gur trader in the Jodia Bazaar in Karachi.
Officials in the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association say that this time the overall crushing activity will be 60 per cent less as compared to last year.
Throughout the crushing period, the growers were unwilling to sell their cane to millers for less than Rs250 per 40kg. Some growers are demanding Rs300 per maund for their produce.
Members of the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) say they have reports that some millers were even obtaining cane from Punjab at around Rs230 per maund.
“Out of 32 sugar mills in Sindh, only 22 could start cane crushing till December end, while some of them had to suspend the process on account of non-availability or inadequate supplies of cane,” said officials in the cane commissioner office in Hyderabad.
Official reports indicate that overall cane crushing, which kicked off late in November, is not more than 40 per cent till December 31 as compared to that of last year.
While slamming, what most of the growers described the ‘unjustified’ cane support price, leaders of cane growers said such low prices for their produce was meant to discourage them from growing the crop any more and deprive people of the locally-produced sugar at affordable prices.
While a handful of millers are ready to purchase cane at Rs200 per 40kg, most millers refuse to pick up the crop at Rs300/40kg. They argue that purchasing cane at such exorbitant rates would push sweetener’s price up in the local market.
“If we purchase cane between Rs250-Rs300 per maund the price of sugar will soar beyond Rs120 per kg in retail market,” said an official of Habib Sugar Mills in Nawabshah. “We just want our mills running and ensure availability of sugar to consumers at affordable price.”
“This price war between growers and millers will result in low sugar production and consequently aggravate sugar crisis in the days to come, making the sweetener costlier and unaffordable for consumers,” remarks an official in the Sindh Cane Commissioner’s office in Hyderabad.
“The cane growers sow wheat in their fields after clearing them of cane; the standing cane crop means wheat sowing in the right bank districts would suffer significantly,” remarked Mohammad Aachar, agriculture department’s director for major crops.
The right bank cane growing districts together account for over 65 per cent of the total wheat sowing in the province.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/10/sugarcane-price-war-spurs-gur-making-2.html

Sindh agriculture struggling for recovery

By Saleem Shaikh

January 3, 2011

THE coming Rabi crops are likely to show good performance if water availability is improved and provision is made for distribution of high-yield seeds, unadulterated fertilisers and unhindered agriculture credit.
Agriculture experts believe that timely recovery of the agriculture sector in the province depends on early draining out of floodwater from inundated farmlands, rehabilitation of damaged irrigation network and roads and provision of unhampered financial support and free farm inputs.
Although Sindh Minister for Irrigation Jam Saifullah Dharejo claimed that the flood-hit irrigation network would be restored by end of December, the situation remained unpromising as most of the breaches have not been repaired as yet.
Sindh irrigation department officials admit that rehabilitation of irrigation networks is very slow. “Though 80 percent floodwater has been flushed out of the flood-ravaged areas, only 660 out of some 2,138 breaches have been plugged so far and floodwater is still flowing through 1,478 breaches,” a senior irrigation official said quoting a report. But, Mehfooz Ursani, general secretary of the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), rejected official claims that 80 per cent floodwater had been drained out. He said that despite passage of four months since the flood hit Sindh, much of the affected areas still remains inundated seriously affecting Rabi sowing.
Sindh government has announced support packages and low mark-up loans for flood-hit farmers and drawn out plans to rehabilitate the damaged irrigation network to restore agro-based activity. But, progress is very slow, he said.
Tight financial situation of the provincial government is also hindering the launching of support packages for farmers and expediting process of plugging irrigation network breaches.
Sindh Agriculture Secretary Agha Jan Akhtar hopes that wheat sowing target will be achieved, because major wheat growing areas on the left bank of the Indus River remained unaffected during the floods.
“Efforts are being made to encourage the left bank growers to grow more wheat. Initiatives have already been taken to resolve the cane price issue between the growers and the millers,” he remarked.
The agriculture secretary said that minor crops sowing was also in full swing in the lowing-lying areas on the right side of Indus River, from where water has been pumped out and hopes for good sowing of minor crops particularly pulses and vegetables and fodder were bright.
Amin Thebo, director crop reporting, said that sowing of vegetables, have recently picked up pace in left bank areas that were under cane crop.
“Reports of wheat sowing and vegetable cultivation have poured in recently from the scattered cane growing areas in the right bank areas, where fields have been cleared of cane,” he remarked.
While the floodwater is likely to be flushed out completely by March 2011, improving Kharif sowing.
Sindh’s agriculture has suffered enormous damages in recent floods and rains but no significant measures have been taken so far for its recovery.
Overall damage suffered by agriculture has been estimated at 2.3 billion dollars, according to provincial government’s revised figures. “The province’s paddy crop sown on around 0.7-0.8 million acres was washed away, causing losses to the tune of Rs60 billion,” said a provincial agriculture department official.
Sindh agriculture department officials estimate production of around 663,000 tons of rice in the province against the target of 2.039 million tons for Kharif 2010. The shortfall of 60 per cent is because of the fact that rice on around 850,000 acres, against the target of 1.586 million acres, had been washed away by floods.
The cotton crop, sown on either side of the Indus River, was also hit by the flood on the right bank.
Agriculture department officials said the province, which achieved a record production last year, has experienced short crop this year by around 13.63 per cent to 3.321 million bales recorded till December 15, 2010 as compared to 3.845 million bales in the corresponding period of last year.
As far as sugarcane is concerned, it was cultivated on much less area in the province due to water scarcity. Unattractive support price, ill-and exploitative attitude of sugar millers and lack of government interest has compelled the growers to cut the area under cane cultivation.
Despite water shortages, rains and unfavorable climatic conditions during FY10, the province’s agriculture sector is expected to show a reasonable performance. Contrary to expectations. The performance of minor crops is to remain more or less satisfactory due to switch over of area from major (for example: sugarcane) to minor crops.
THE coming Rabi crops are likely to show improved performance only if water availability is improved and provision are made for high-yield seeds, unadulterated fertilisers and unhindered agriculture credit loans.
Agriculture experts say that timely recovery of the agriculture sector and its bright outlook depends on early draining out of floodwater from inundated farmlands, rehabilitation of damaged irrigation network and roads and provision of unhampered financial support and free farm inputs.
Although Sindh Minister for Irrigation Jam Saifullah Dharejo claimed tat the flood-hit irrigation network would be restored by end of December, the situation remains unpromising For, most of the breaches have not been repaired as yet.
Officials in the provincial irrigation department admit that rehabilitation of irrigation networks is very slow. “Though 80 percent floodwater has been flushed out of the flood-ravaged areas, only 660 out of some 2,138 breaches have been plugged so far and floodwater is still flowing through 1,478 breaches,” a senior irrigation official said quoting a report.
But, Mehfooz Ursani, general secretary of the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), rejected official claims that 80 per cent floodwater had been flushed out.
He said that despite passage of four months since the flood hit Sindh, much of the affected areas still remain inundated. Therefore, Rabi sowing would suffer seriously.
The provincial government has announced support packages and low mark-up loans for flood-hit farmers and drawn out plans to rehabilitate the damaged irrigation network to restore agro-based activity. But, progress is very slow, he said.
Tight financial situation of the Sindh government is also hindering the launching of support packages for farmers and expediting process of plugging the breaches in the irrigation network.
Sindh Agriculture Secretary Agha Jan Akhtar hopes that wheat sowing target will be achieved, because major wheat growing areas on the left bank of the Indus River remained unharmed during the floods.
“Efforts are being made to encourage the left bank growers to grow more wheat. Initiatives have already been taken to resolve the cane price issue between the growers and the millers,” he remarked.
The agriculture secretary said that minor crops sowing was also in full swing in the lowing-lying areas on the right side of Indus River, from where water has been pumped out and hopes for good sowing of minor crops particularly pulses and vegetables and fodder were bright.
Amin Thebo, director crop reporting, said that sowing of major Rabi crops, particularly vegetables, have recently picked up pace in left bank areas that were under cane crop.
“Reports of wheat sowing and vegetable cultivation of Rabi season have poured in recently from the scattered cane growing areas in the right bank areas, where fields have been cleared of cane,” he remarked.
Agriculture experts said that although 80 per cent of low-lying areas on the right bank are being claimed to have been brought under Rabi crops while the floodwater is unlikely to be flushed out completely before March 2011. Nevertheless, chances are bright for Kharif sowing of FY 2011.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/03/sindh-agriculture-struggling-for-recovery.html