AGRICULTURE
Rice producers in Sindh, who have been associated with cultivation practices for a long time, are raising questions about the nutritional value and quality of new food crops being floated in the market.
They consider rapidly changing technologies and unnecessary use of chemicals harmful, and reasons behind the deteriorating quality of products.
Qamaruddin Mahesar, a farmer and rice trader from Larkana said sugdasi rice, a kind of local basmati variety was disappearing and not being cultivated by most farmers. “A very few growers are now harvesting this variety using indigenous practices for their own consumption,” he said.
According to Mahesar, one of the major differences between old rice and the new varieties was the maintaining quality in mills. “Earlier varieties were easier to store throughout the year in open grounds. The new ones, however, cannot be stored on open grounds because of their inability to resists moisture, which pollutes and deteriorates the quality of the product,” he explained.
He also pointed out the aroma of basmati rice was also not the same now. Mahesar said in the past, when someone was cooking sugdasi at home, the aroma of the rice spread throughout the neighbourhood and everyone knew about the quality of the food.
“There can be no comparison in the quality of taste and nutrients with the newly introduced varieties,” he added.
The farmer and his family have been associated with paddy fields and rice trade for generations. In 1975, high-yielding varieties (HYVs) like Irri-6 were introduced in the fields that gave 40-50 maund/acre yields. Compared to that, these new hybrid varieties have capacity to give 80-100 maund/acre.
“Currently, rice is priced at Rs800/maund in raw form, whereas clean rice is at Rs1,200/maund,” he said, and added that farmers prefer the new varieties because of the yield phenomenon, which helps generate enough income.
Mushtaq Unar, a farmer from village Chibhir Unar, Taluka KN Shah, Dadu district, said this aromatic food specie sugdasi was almost removed from the area 20 years ago. “Our elders used to cultivate this variety, but now we cannot imagine doing the same.”
Unar now cultivates hybrid varieties of rice. About the uniqueness of indigenous sugdasi, he said it was popular due to its fragrance and taste. "We mainly produce rice for the market, and many of us do not consume the variety we produce. Instead, for our own consumption, we buy rice coming from other areas of the country,” he said.
There were two indigenous varieties called sugdasi and ratria. Sugdasi is popular in Kashmor, Ghotki, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Dadu, Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, etc. Ratria, on the other hand is mostly used for making flour, and holds the same importance in the region as sugdasi.
Farmers said some seed manufacturers were marketing the old sugdasi as a new variety D-98, which was quite different and did not match the original-indigenous aromatic variety.
Growers are adapting to different food varieties due to the changing consumption priorities of the market.
Rice is said to be the second major grain food crop, which brings foreign exchange through export.
Prof Ismail Kumbhar, a focal person of Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam and a researcher in the fields of agriculture, food security and water, said, “It should be a priority issue with the government institutions to conduct research for increasing the capacity of old food crop varieties.”
He advocated for promoting local seed varieties, which he said were more suited to the local climate and land. “We invest more on research on crop cultivation and seed production, mostly looking for opportunities to promote new varieties instead of local ones, which are suitable for our climate and land.”
Apart from the climate, these local varieties also were not as dependent on fertilisers and pesticides, compared to the new ones, the professor said. “Use of chemicals creates financial burden on produces, as the input costs go up.”
Sindh has only one major Rice Research Institute in Dokri, Larkana district and Sindh Agriculture Extension Department to see the possibilities of how to adopt the newly emerging technologies, and to encourage growers by promoting local varieties.
“Hardly a few landlords spare some land to produce the disappearing native sugdasi and ratria varieties that are valuable due to their suitability to our region.”
Prof Kumbhar said rice is a delta crop, which needs more water for its growth and to maintain productivity. “World over, the focus is on food crops with high nutritional value to fulfil human caloric needs.”
This is rice harvest season in the country. Sindh produces rice in Kashmor, Ghotki, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Dadu, Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, and parts of other districts.
As per some growers, they adopted the new varieties because they were told about higher yields compared to the native seeds after 2006-07. However, after years, they have realised the loss and many intend to revive the older varieties for cultivation.
Some researchers and farmers believe the change has come after Indus flood 2010, when these new varieties were gifted to farmers in the disaster-affected areas. Since then it has changed the entire scenario.
Altaf Mahesar of Basic Development Foundation claims to have established seed conservation models and seed banks by engaging agriculture experts and farmers for promoting local varieties, mainly rice, wheat and other food crops.
Talking about rice, he said unfortunately this aromatic specie was getting removed from the entire area. Their initiative aims to preserve its germplasm and extend its multiplication for higher yield to address food security issue. He said farmers presently were optimistic to revive the practice of seed conservation.
Gulab Shah, a grower from Keti Bunder, Indus Delta still recalls the red rice, popularly known after the coastal area, which the local people fondly consume as flour. Presently, it is cultivated in some places of the coastal zone and consumed locally.
The Indus delta itself has been known as a rice growing area, but seems to be losing the best ever food varieties.
The writer is a staff member
