Growers fear food insecurity on account of seed failure, locust attacks

HYDERABAD: Besides cotton producers, chilli and rice growers have also started crying against receiving adulterated seeds, which either do not germinate properly or have low percentage of growth. Farmers are perturbed all across the province.

Sindh Growers Alliance (SGA) President Nawab Zubair Talpur termed it political rivalry between federal and provincial governments, which seem uninterested in resolving the matter amicably to save agriculture economy.

“We have received complaints from chilli and rice fields, where growers have established nurseries for developing seedlings, but found low germination. The next immediate crop is onion, which may face these problems too,” he said, adding that the government functionaries were not handling the matter to save the rural economy.

Quoting this year’s federal budget, he said agriculture was the only sector, which might drive the country out of the crisis. “The budget shows that all industries are running in minus, except agriculture, which contributes 18.5 percent to GDP, while providing source of livelihood to 64 percent population in the country,” he added.

However, the government was yet to prioritise agriculture, and this negligence had put the rural economy in crisis.

“Tractors machinery and all tools in cultivation are costly, which many farmers cannot afford to buy,” he said, adding that in this situation the government should announce compensation for the loss farmers faced due to locust attacks and adulterated seeds.

He said recent locust attacks have caused colossal loss to major cotton crop in many parts of the province, leaving farmers in helpless situation.

The SGA leader pointed out that in some areas, cotton might get ready for picking within some time, but the government was yet to announce support price for farmers so they could recover losses.

He also reiterated the demand to remove restrictions in Rs58 billion subsidy package, which could not benefit to common growers.

“We are receiving daily reports from different parts of the province, in which farmers complain about locusts damaging crops,” he said, adding that the provincial government has received aircraft for conducting aerial spray on locusts in Sukkur, which might be effective to control the swarms.

But, Talpur said officials concerned have nothing to say as to why they have stopped the airplane from carrying out aerial spray.

He also urged the government to withdraw irrigation and agriculture taxes, and to dirburse bank loans immediately so the farmers heave a sigh of relief.

Altaf Mahesar of Basic Development Foundation (BDF), who leads farmer network in Dadu district to promote local and indigenous seeds and sustainable practices in agriculture, said faulty seeds were a common cry of rice, chilli and cotton growers.

Earlier, seed companies realised their responsibility in case of poor seed quality, especially if the seeds did not germinate, but now they openly challenged farmers and shirked responsibility.

Mahesar criticised Seed Act 2015, which does not promote indigenous and traditional seeds, and rather advocates hybrid seeds. He said dependency on hybrid seeds created problems for farmers, who ended up paying a huge cost, raising questions on the efficiency of the government.

He said this year water was in a better position. “There is no report of water scarcity from any area, except mismanagement on part of influential growers and officials.”

He said onion nurseries were being developed, where seed was available at Rs2,000-Rs2,500/kg instead of Rs800-Rs1,000/kg previous year—equal to Rs100,000/maund.

Sindh farmers have been experiencing multiple issues, including faulty seeds, locust attacks, and lockdown restrictions following the new coronavirus pandemic.

Mustafa Nangraj, deputy director, Sindh Agriculture Extension, said cotton crop was lost partially to locust attacks. According to him, locusts were reported flying from different districts and some swarms might land on the crops. “However, there were no reports of significant losses in the entire province,” he added.

The department has formed district level teams for conducting survey and planning to control the spread of the pests. “Special teams intervene through given resources. One vehicle is given to each district team for monitoring locusts,” Nangraj said.

He called aerial spray an effective way to control locusts, but said the recent lockdown restrictions have created hurdles in carrying it out.

Sindh agriculture officials said seed certification was a federal government matter, as the centre was responsible for the registration and monitoring mechanism.

Reports show that in some cases, unaware farmers keep seeds after harvests for the next year. Those seeds however do not grow.

Local mismanagement has also been observed on part of government functionaries in handling the locust crisis. Officials believe that FAO had issued alert calls earlier to take steps to control at the provincial borders through conducting aerial spray. But the authorities could not pay heed instantly and now the crops were under threat.

Some researchers in agriculture quote FAO, which foresees increasing pressure of locusts during the next three years, which might increase food insecurity.