47,743 tons wheat seeds distributed in Sindh

By Saleem Shaikh

February 15, 2011

Daily Dawn

KARACHI, Feb 14: The Sindh government has distributed tons of wheat seeds and urea among the flood-hit farmers free of cost under its Rabi assistance plan.

However, the officials in the provincial agriculture department hope the step would help to rehabilitate the agriculture in flood-hit right bank districts and pave the way for robust Kharif sowing.

The federal Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved the plan worth Rs3.36 billion in December last year. According to the plan details, the federal government agreed to pay the half of the amount, Rs1.68 billion to the Sindh government while the rest was to be raised by the provincial government.

According to officials in the agriculture department till February 1, around 47,848 tons of wheat seeds and 14,030 tons of urea fertiliser had been distributed against requirements of 60,460 tons and 38,900 tons, respectively among the bona-fide flood-hit farmers.

The districts where the free farm inputs had been distributed are: Jacobabad, Kashmore-Kandhkot, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Shikarpur, Dadu, Thatta, Jamshoro, Larkana, Khairpur, Ghotki, Sukkur, Nausheroferoz, Shaheed Benazirabad, Matiyari and Tando Mohammad Khan, said Ashfaq Ahmed
Soomro, Additional Secretary of the agriculture department.

The department’s spokesman said that although the process of the distribution of free farm inputs was almost over, it continued in upper Sindh flood-hit areas.

“Because, the upper Sindh districts have late wheat sowing pattern, the flood-hit wheat growers can still obtain the free inputs,” he added.

The spokesman said that the provincial government was providing the fertilisers and seeds to each eligible farmer worth Rs30,000 on the basis of
area of affect land.

Weblink: http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/15/47743-tons-wheat-seeds-distributed-in-sindh.html

Managing dyke repairs before Kharif season

By Saleem Shaikh

Daily Dawn, February 14, 2011

THE cash-strapped Sindh government has not been able to fully restore damaged irrigation network despite passage of almost six months since the devastating floods hit the province last year.

Irrigation experts are worried that if the damaged river embankments are not rehabilitated and breaches plugged before the coming monsoon season in June, the problem may worsen.

The federal government has agreed to release Rs2.5 billion on an urgent basis.

A senior official in the provincial irrigation department, meanwhile, told this scribe that the Sindh government had released a sum of Rs2 billion from its own resources to re-start the rehabilitation work. The work would gear up once the promised funds start flowing in from the federal government.

The provincial irrigation secretary Rafique Memon said that he had already told the meeting of the Federal Ministry for Inter-provincial Coordination held in Islamabad few weeks back that Sindh urgently needed Rs8 billion for repairing river dykes.

He warned of far-reaching implications on the province’s agricultural economy, if the required funds were not released before mid-February.

Irrigation officials said the Sindh government was now waiting for immediate release of Rs5 billion for rehabilitation of dykes and canals to their original shape for its Kharif sowing.

If the provincial government will not manage the daunting task of rehabilitation in a short span of three months, the Kharif sowing that starts from April 15, will suffer.

“The Sindh government is very much aware of the dangers the broken river dykes and breaches pose to the provincial economy, but it is handicapped by the financial constraints,” said a senior official in the department.

After approval of the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP), the provincial government had submitted 76 schemes worth Rs16 billion to the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) for its approval. But, only Rs14 billion were approved in the CDWP meeting held on January 22 for implementation of 64 schemes of urgent nature.

After the modus operandi for the release of the funds was being considered by the ECNEC, the federal government announced on February 2 to give Rs5 billion for priority projects .

Officials in the provincial irrigation department said that undue delay in the release of the approved amount of Rs5 billion was further delaying the rehabilitation work.

Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo said Tori Bund and Kot Almo breaches were not plugged with conventional irrigation department methods. These were plugged initially on emergency basis by stone-dumping to halt floodwater flow from there.

He also said that these breaches were still open and efforts were yet to be made to plug them properly. But it was not possible until the centre released the approved funds.

According to reports quoting official sources, around 1,946 breaches out of a total of 2,515 that occurred in different waterways, had been plugged at a cost of Rs1 billion.

Irrigation expert Idris Rajput said that floodwater enters Sindh in June. Therefore, rehabilitation of dykes and plugging of breaches should be completed before it, or else, the province would face yet another devastation.

The provincial chief minister has issued orders to the irrigation department to immediately kick off the strengthening of all damaged embankments and plugging of breaches by May this year. For, which he has released Rs2 billion from province’s own resources.

Irrigation experts doubt whether the hefty amount of Rs5 billion, released in installments by the centre to the provincial government, would be utilised efficiently and in a transparent manner.

“There is also a deep suspicion in the federal government about the Sindh government’s inability to efficiently utilise Rs5 billion before May this year for the quality rehabilitation work,” said Fazullah Qureshi, a former federal secretary planning and development.

Conceding to such doubts, he said that spending such a huge amount in a span of just three months was really a great challenge for the irrigation department in view of lack of capacity and efficiency.

He suggested: “If the government wants to restore the irrigation network in such a short span of time with transparent utilisation of funds following release of more funds by the federation, then it should first start plugging all breaches immediately and simultaneously, launch dykes repairing and strengthening work on them.”

He said that the government’s top priority should be quality work on the damaged irrigation network, with focus on monitoring of the rehabilitation work. Otherwise, the next possible flood would sweep away the irrigation system again and cause more massive damages than it caused last year.

Web link: http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/14/managing-dyke-repairs-before-kharif-season.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

Financing Rabi Sowing

By Saleem Shaikh

Monday, 18 Oct, 2010 | 01:14 AM PST |

THE Sindh government’s efforts to boost Rabi cultivation may receive a setback if banks do not fully cater to the credit needs of the flood-ravaged growers.

Farmers complain that banks are risk-averse facing financial squeeze, particularly due to the recent sharp increase in their non-performing loans in agriculture sector, which has been devastated by the floods.

While significant amount of standing Kharif crops, farming machines, seed stocks for Rabi crops and fertilisers have been washed away, the farmers are less likely to be able to undertake Rabi sowing on their own. And, therefore, “financial assistance for the flood-hit farmers is a must,” the agriculture economists believe.

Displaced by the ravaging floods, the financially-battered farmers are willing to go back to their fields and get engaged in Rabi sowing. But, they need seed, fertiliser, DAP, pesticides and farming tools for ploughing and land leveling, for which they should have an easy access to financial support.

Reports that growers are facing obstacles in obtaining credit loans from banks in flood-ravaged districts of the province have surfaced recently. Farmer leaders say, “when they visit banks for farm credit they are discouraged in different ways.”

“Bank officials tell farmers that they have been directed not to sanction any credit without valid guarantees,” said a farmer. “Other than government, who else can provide guarantees to such hapless farmers who have lost everything and are now penniless,” he questions.

“In this hour of need these farmers are looking towards the government to rescue them from the misery with financial support for raising their crops,” said Akhund Ghulam Mohammad, general secretary of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture.

On September 24, following deliberation on reviving flood-hit agriculture in Sindh between the provincial government and the State Bank governor, banks were approached to provide agriculture loans to flood-hit farmers. But the banks, in a reply to the provincial planning and development department’s request, questioned the government’s proposal and said it did not meet (banks’) certain criteria for sanctioning loans.

“They ask for surety measures,” said an official in the economic planning section of the provincial P&DD.

Another official in the provincial finance department said that the provincial government had brought the matter of banks’ reluctance to farm credit to the notice of the SBP and asked it to help sort out the matter.

Meanwhile, the provincial government has also tried to know banks’ viewpoint through the SBP if they would provide loans to farmers against ‘Form VII’ (ownership deed) and possession certificates supported with guarantees and undertakings from the provincial revenue department; and that the farmers’ passbooks would be issued to them within specified time, a senior official in the provincial revenue department said.

But the banks, an official told this scribe, have declined to accept such proposals. Instead, they have demanded record of average sales value over three years, number of produce index units (PIUs) and credit history of borrowers, which would help the lending banks to evaluate value of farm land to be offered as collateral.

An official in a bank’s main branch in Karachi said the banks had refused to accept the ownership deed on the ground that it was not possible to verify it as the revenue record of the flood-hit farmers might have been destroyed.

He said that banks feared default on such risk-prone farm loans and subsequent litigations against the defaulting farmers. The proposed undertaking by the provincial Board of Revenue (BoR) would not have any legal validity in establishing their claim over a property in a court of law.

In the first week of October, an official in the central bank’s farm credit department conveyed to provincial P&DD secretary Naheed Durrani that the banks would sanction loans to farmers only if the government furnished a ‘provisional credit surety’ to banks up to the loan amount in conjunction with the markup till the time the charge was created on the passbook in favour of the banks in conformity with the Commercial and Industrial Purposes Act 1973.

One of the major reasons behind the banks’ evident wariness towards loaning the farming sector is that recent floods have raised the NPLs, said a senior bank official.

The central bank estimates these NPLs to be over Rs28 billion, according to the preliminary data of the SBP.

The bankers say that the flood-hit agriculture sector is in the worst shape, which needs a hefty amount for revival. “Not only have the infrastructure but also the land been ravaged by the deluge. It means preparation of the land for cultivation would be a difficult task and will not be possible without huge financial investments. However, it is not going to happen until the government ensures its increased and active participation,” they opined.

Officials in the provincial agriculture department state: “We have chalked out a plan for the revival of farmlands in the province from where over 60-65 farmers took refugee after the deluge battered their crops and villages. But, the ‘agriculture revival plan’ will be of no use if the farmers fail to get hassle-free access to farm credit on low markup.”

Available on Dawn Newspaper's website:

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/economic-and-business/financing-rabi-sowing-800