Cotton picking begins, growers fear low yields

HYDERABAD: Canal water improved after a delay of four-five months, but for cotton producers in the advanced cultivating areas of Sindh, it was too late as the crop was now ready for picking.

Presently, canals from Kotri barrage are flowing at full capacity after four-five months delay, giving some hope to farmers.

Water shortage in Sindh’s barrages was marked at around 60-65 percent throughout the season of cotton and next immediate crops like paddy. These waters should arrive at the destinations after 20-25 days, if the flow sustains in the canals, reports gathered from the irrigation department officials and farmers said.

Cotton picking has started in Thatta, Badin, Sujawal, Umarkot, Hyderabad, Matiari, Sanghar and parts of Tharparkar and Mirpurkhas districts, where the producers are receiving low yield 15-20 maund/acre.

Presently, the market rate of cotton is Rs4,000-4,500/maund, against the demand of Sindh growers, who want Rs6,500/maund as per minimum support price.

Farmers feel uneasy because of increasing cultivation cost, including seed, water and input, much higher compared to the low rates they receive for their product. They are also getting substandard pesticides and fertilisers, which instead of curing crop diseases cause further.

Farmers in Umerkot, Tharparkar and Mirpurkhas districts said they have yet not recovered from losses incurred last year due to floods. Rain floods in 2020 had devastated standing crops, mainly cotton and chilli, leaving nothing behind. This year, water scarcity has reduced their chances of recovering last year’s losses.

Hardly a few days back, there was a cry against acute water scarcity in tail end areas, which compelled hundreds of farmers mostly belonging to tail end areas to stage protest demonstrations. They clocked highways to demand for their fair share in water to save their crops.

Due to prolonged water scarcity, farmers in advanced cultivating areas are receiving low yield of cotton, ranging from 10-20 maund/acre, compared to last year when they harvested 40-45 maund/acre.

It was reported that coastal area farmers could either not cultivate cotton this year or were trying to save the standing crop due to delayed water supply in the irrigation systems, despite improvement of water flow in canals.

In district Badin, farmers have already started picking cotton. Pickings yields recorded in Umerkot indicate 16-20 maunds/acre with fear of monsoon rains, as clouds loom over.

The picking season may take at least 15 days to take momentum in the entire province. In many areas like Benazirabad, Naushehro Feroz and other districts farmers are waiting to harvest the crop soon. Rahim Lakho, a small scale farmer from Matiari district said identified various factors harming the cotton crop, including extreme heat, water scarcity, pest attacks and substandard seeds. Initially, it was a cry in some areas that seeds had a low germination rate. But now it is a common complaint against the seeds of this major cash crop, which was a source of livelihood for so many.

Apart from these issues, pests and disease were also harming the cotton crop. Farmers have reported incidences of mealy bug, cotton leaf curl and other diseases, Lakho said.

“Due to increase in cultivation costs and delay in fixing minimum support price, many farmers have changed their mind, and are thinking about cultivating alternative crops instead of cotton,” he added.

Farmers from Benazirabad district said water scarcity with extreme heat waves has affected standing crops in a wide area. Being a sensitive crop, cotton requires water once a week. But it receives water on a fortnightly or 21-day gap, which has ruined the valuable crop. “Farmers may get low produce.”

The picking of cotton in Benazirabad and neighbouring districts would likely begin after July 15.

Productivity would likely be affected due to water scarcity. Water was a must during the initial stage to maintain the health of plants.

Farmers demand for the minimum support price up to Rs6,500/maund, besides they want to government to ensure the availability of authorised seeds so they might recover losses.

Sindh Growers Alliance President Nawab Zuair Talpur giving his reaction said the provincial as well as federal governments did not plan to help producers by providing incentives.

“We are paying a huge cost of cultivation, including high rates of input, but the government authorities seem ignorant about the substandard input available in local markets and low water supply in the irrigation system amidst an extreme heat wave,” he said.

In this situation, he asked how farmers could manage the cultivation cost.