In Kunri, farmers abandon chilli for lemon

HYDERABAD: The acute shortage of irrigation water has forced red chilli growers in Sindh to instead cultivate lemon gardens, which they think offer prosperity.

Dur Muhammad Memon, one of the leading growers of the area, said chilli crop was the most sensitive and needed proper temperature, water, and care. “If there is insufficient water, the crop suffers. Presently, growers receive water after 21 days and sometimes it is delayed for months, depending on water availability in canals,” he said.

He himself has planted lemon trees on his family land and looks optimistic about recovering the losses his chilli crops incurred during the last six years. Growers in the major chilli-producing zone Kunri, Umerkot District link the huge losses to the devastation caused by the 2011 rain-flood, which destroyed embankments of canals and watercourses.

The flood water inundated their fields and destroyed entire crops. Since then the farmers have not been able to recover their losses because of persistent water shortage in canals and extreme weather conditions due to climate change. The growers claim they were left with no choice but to introduce the citrus family garden for sustainability. 

A few years ago, a grower or two started planting lemon trees on their lands; and now their decision has started bearing fruits in higher profits. Their success has motivated other farmers to also try their luck at citrus, instead of taking the risk of planting the high maintenance chilli crops.

Growers believe that due to its high tolerance, the lemon tree can sustain longer without water. The product has a huge potential in both local and nationals markets to attract buyers due to its bright and fresh look.

Growers plant around 100 plants on one acre of land. Contractors and traders offer Rs150,000 to Rs200,000 per acre for the seasonal fruits. Once a traditional bid is successful, the contractor has to shoulder all the responsibilities from picking the ripe fruit to transporting it to the market.

Usually growers have to spend a major chunk to keep crops safe from diseases and pests, however, for lemon gardens, they neither have to spend on buying fertilisers and pesticides, nor manpower.

We plant the tree, water it and sell it to the contractor on a lease when the fruit ripens, farmers said. They claimed that each lemon tree yielded anything between Rs5,000 and Rs20,000, depending on the soil and care.

In Sindh the popular lemon growing districts include Sukkur, Khairpur and Nawabshah. Now Umerkot's Kunri is the new emerging zone to produce lemon. However, the trend is also increasing in other districts like Badin, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, and Hyderabad.

Kunri is the only cultivable area of Umerkot district, which in its peculiarity, is known as a desert and semi-desert bordering Tharparkar district in the province. The soil and climate is suitable and favourable, where growers cultivate sunflower, cotton, wheat, sesame, and the famous Sindhri mango varieties.

However, red chilli has been the most popular crop in this semi-desert. Kunri market attracts traders, processors, and exporters from the entire country for buying the profitable chilli. Main chilli producing districts include Umerkot and parts of Mirpurkhas, Badin, and Sanghar.

In the past, red chilli was grown on 80,000 acres of land in these four districts. Per acre at least one family was engaged to grow this crop. The current situation has rendered many farmers, their families and labourers in a dire situation.

Farmers said they have been achieving hardly 45-60 maunds per acre due to the scarcity of water. With sufficient water, per acre yield of chilli rises to 210 maunds, they said. The chilli crop sowing season starts from mid February and during the peak season of September-October, Kunri’s chilli market receives 20,000 bags daily.

This season however, the growers are uncertain and predict that growers, workers, and traders may face problems due to low production. This means the price will be uncertain too. 

The Kunri market usually starts receiving fresh products by the first week of August and continues to sell the chilli till the end of March every year. But now the markets may receive the product later. 

Crop pattern change is a new phenomenon in Sindh after visible climate change effects, like frequent floods in riverine area, increasing sea intrusion in coastal zones, and uncertain monsoons and persistent dryness in arid zones. The situation has dire consequences for those dependent on cultivation and livestock rearing.