April 08, 2007	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 19, 1428

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HYDERABAD, April 7: The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) demanded on Saturday that the president and prime minister should make permanent 30 per cent subsidy on phosphatic fertilisers to enable the country to achieve 10 per cent growth rate in agriculture sector.

A meeting of the board chaired by its chief Abdul Majeed Nizamani reminded the government that the subsidy had already enabled wheat growers to increase production by 1.5 million tons worth Rs15.937 billion within six months.

The government, under pressure from the World Bank, the IMF, America, European Union and other developed countries, was reluctant to grant subsidy to agriculture sector despite the fact that the 80 per cent of the country’s economy was dependent on agriculture and it was an independent and sovereign state as well as a nuclear power, the meeting observed.

The meeting noted that without subsidy, growth rate of major crops, wheat, cotton, sugarcane and rice plunged to minus 3.6 per cent and demanded that the president and prime minister of Pakistan should make 30 per cent subsidy on phosphatic fertilisers permanent to achieve 10 per cent growth rate in agriculture. This way the total subsidy would come to Rs13 billion and might help earn Rs70 billion, the meeting said.

The meeting proposed that the government should fix the price of diesel at Rs24 a litre for three years, make standard quality pesticides and insecticides available at 50 per cent discounted rates, raise research and development budget by 400 per cent and give 40 per cent rebate on current bills for tube-wells installation.

The meeting reminded the government that Indian government charged its farmers nothing for the installation and operation of tube-wells and regretted the Irrigation Act had been rendered ineffective since 1970 with many illegal direct outlets and channels dug into canals and distributaries.

The meeting urged the government to provide year-wise information about illegal outlets and channels to the growers and demanded that the growers’ organisations should be informed about the annual repairs, rehabilitation, revamping and lining of waterways as well as repairs of regulators gates.

The meeting urged the irrigation department to make arrangements for planting trees along the canals’ embankments and proper patrolling to prevent breaches.

The meeting that the performance and audit report of SIDA should be made public and the authority should be taken to task for failing to achieve its targets as according to programme it had to line 125 channels by 2008.

The meeting said that harvesting of wheat crop in Sindh had started from Feb 22 and 75 per cent of crop had already been harvested still there was no sign of launch of procurement drive by the government.

While the Punjab had already announced its wheat procurement policy despite the fact the province had started harvesting season six months later than Sindh, it said.

The meting sought action the food department for what it called its "criminal negligence" in procurement of wheat and called for involving growers’ associations in the process to ensure distribution of bardana (gunny bags) in a transparent manner.

The meeting expressed grave concern over worsening law and order conditions and road accidents in the province and urged the government to take effective measures to protect life, property and honour of people.