HYDERABAD, Jan 7: The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) has called for more agricultural research to increase per acre yield, which it says is 50 to 300 per cent less than in developed countries.

The board’s meeting on Saturday, which was chaired by Abdul Majeed Nizamani, demanded that the government raise allocation for research from 0.3 per cent to 1.2 per cent of GDP and prepare hybrid seed within the country.

The researchers, agriculture scientists and irrigation scientists should be awarded special packages and they should not be posted and transferred on political grounds, the meeting suggested.

The meeting expressed grave concern over the proposed import of 2.5 to 3 million bales of cotton at a cost of $500 million and called for research on BT cotton seed.

Concerned over shortage of water, the board demanded that the government line all the watercourses within three years and introduce drip and sprinkler system. All the 14 main canals and small and big channels should be restored to their original design, rotation programme should be ended and water supply should be ensured to the tail-end, the meeting demanded.

The growers urged the government to end irregularities in the irrigation system including the excavation of new channels and installation of additional pipes and demanded that release of poisonous water from Punjab and Balochistan into Sindh and discharge of effluent of industrial units and cities should be stopped from flowing into the River Indus.

The meeting demanded that uncalled for tax of 43 per cent on petrol should be withdrawn and its price should be fixed at Rs34.2 per litre petrol and Rs28.80 a litre diesel.