‘Small farmers need access to microcredit for value-addition’

HYDERABAD: Researchers and experts in agriculture, water and livestock management called for effective interventions, such as access to microcredit and education for small vegetable farmers on value-addition, mainly for tomato and other food items to avoid market crisis and losses.

They made these observations at a discussion “Rural women's economic empowerment through agriculture, livestock, and water resource management”, organised by Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) on Thursday.

Pirbhu Satyani, regional head of SPO said they were approaching microfinance institutions in these areas to help rural women establish small-scale business interventions to promote agriculture and livestock entrepreneurship. He shared a baseline report and need assessment conducted in three districts, including Badin, Tando Muhammad Khan and Hyderabad. SPO interviewed community women, which showed that women workers earned Rs200-Rs300 every day compared to men, who earned Rs500-Rs600 as daily wage. He said it has been observed that middlemen collect milk from women livestock farmers because they (women) do not have direct access to market. “We are planning to form self-help groups to (give women) direct access to market to sell their products,” he added.

He emphasized the need to implement Sindh water ordinance, which proposes women’s involvement in water bodies. When water bill would be implemented definitely, women would be accommodated in water associations,” Satyani said.

Mustafa Nangraj, a renowned researcher in plantation, crops productivity, nutrition and marketing mechanism in rural areas, talked about the status of women empowerment, and gave reference of a recent study he conducted in 12 districts of the province. He said 60 percent women out of 25,490 (who were interviewed) did not have power to decide about which crop should be cultivated on the family’s land. “Only men can decide this,” he said.