Chilli growers cry as substandard seeds, fertilisers singe yields

HYDERABAD: Small chilli farmers from Umerkot, Tharparkar, Mirprkhas and Badin districts are facing colossal losses as substandard seeds, poor quality of pesticides and adulterated fertilisers have played havoc on yields.

Farmers bought expensive seeds available in the market, and like most years, the seeds were not up to mark. They lamented government apathy and lack of regulation in this regard.

Plant health was questionable at the nurseries, where the seedlings usually develop in February to March. Transplantation starts at the end of April and continues in early May, farmers explained.

A majority of chilli farmers belong to the same areas where last year’s ravaging rain flood in September destroyed standing crops, leaving nothing behind.

Muhammad Sadiq, a grower of Kaloi, Tharparkar district bought chilli seeds between Rs1,800 and Rs2,200/packet this year.

He sowed chilli on four acres of family land following the standard process, as usually starting with seedling nursery and transplantation. However, he faced low germination rate, slow growth of the plants, and low yield.

“Like other farmers, I spent around Rs60,000-Rs70,000 per acre for my own four acre piece of family land. I was expecting to earn through this precious crop, as usual- but all was in vain due to receiving low yield against expectations,” he said disappointedly.

Many growers at Runn tributary, flowing from major Mithrao canal also spent huge amounts on purchasing seeds for their lands, but they too faced heavy losses on account of low yields.

Normally, farmers earn Rs300,000-Rs500,000/acre, depending on the market situation. However, this year, these farmers hardly received Rs20,000-Rs25,000/per acre when they sold chillies in the market.

As per growers, some particular dealers were providing hybrid seeds under dubious labels in the market. Each packet of seeds was priced between Rs1,800-Rs2,200, each acre requires 10 packets of seeds. So, farmers spend Rs20,000-Rs30,000 on seeds per acre. Other input costs that the farmers bear are for chemicals, tractor and labour.

Ghulam Hussain, another farmer of the same area, said there was fear when it rained in June this year, as farmers remembered last year’s losses after the floods in September. To avoid huge losses, farmers sold the perishable commodity at the trader-set low rates.

“We sold our produce for Rs5,000-Rs7,000/bag, as traders set low rates, pleading rain damage,” he explained. Those bags were stocked by traders in wait for higher market rates.

Current chilli rate is Rs12,000-Rs13,000/bag, but unfortunately producers cannot benefit much from this price due to low yields.

Under normal circumstances, farmers get around 250-300 maund fresh chilli or above per acre. After processing and drying, they save 80-100 maund for the market.

This year, only 10-20 maunds per acre were harvested from the chilli plants, which farmers pin on substandard seeds.

Hajan Leghari, another farmer from Jhudo said his family cultivated chilli on four acres of land but could not recover the cost of cultivation. “We got hardly two or three harvests instead of five-six in normal crops,” he added.

Chilli growers in parts of Kunri, Kaloi, Jhudo, Samaro and Badin district, which are known chilli producing areas, have been protesting against companies selling substandard seeds.

Some growers quote Seed (Amendment) Act 2015, which guarantees provision of authorised seeds by registered companies. But practically there is a gap at the implementation level, and certain powerful businessmen in the seed industry sell unregistered products.

Farmers in Sindh have been crying out against these violations for several years, but the government has not taken any action against violators. They demand the provincial government authorities to at least keep vigil over dealers involved in selling seeds, pesticides and fertilisers.

Chilli Growers Association Chairman Mian Saleem, based in Kunri- the main chilli market, confirmed this, and said, “There is no check and balance by the government authorities to see how farmers are being exploited at the hands of certain seed dealers.”

Exact data about the losses was missing, he said, adding that chilli growers were experiencing various problems in terms of marketing their products, and “issues like substandard seeds, fertilisers and pesticides have further intensified the situation”.

Farmers believe a wider network was involved in the trade of spurious seeds, packaged under different hybrid labels. They said chilli takes at least seven months to mature and reach the market, starting from preparation of seedlings in nurseries to transplantation and labour, all of which has an input cost.

It was time to sow wheat now. Last year, wheat cultivation started in October, but this year farmers have been waiting to vacate the land and the next immediate crop cultivation might get delayed.