The Sindh Agriculture Department has fixed targets for Kharif crops with a significant increase in rice acreage. For the last few years rice has made inroads in cotton growing belt, and even a district like Sanghar, which otherwise tops in cotton production, is fast witnessing a shift to rice cultivation. Besides rice, sugarcane seems to be replacing cotton in areas like Ghotki.

Targets set for major summer crops are: rice is to be sown on 700,000 hectares, sugarcane on 300,000 hectares and cotton on 650,000 hectares. Target for cotton sowing remains unchanged since 2009-10 when Sindh produced a bumper crop of 4.2 million bales.

Officials say that cotton’s target remains unchanged. “Normally, we either achieved or surpassed target but it is either rains or flooding that caused widespread damage to standing crop. So we didn’t reduce the acreage to keep farmers engaged in cotton cultivation”, says an agriculture official. He, however, felt worried about constant decline in cotton acreage by 10,000 to 15,000 hectares in Sanghar since 2010-11.

Farmers’ heavy reliance on rice cultivation is attributed to higher hybrid seed yield and fast

changing seasonal variations. Changing weather patterns always threaten cotton crop more than any other. Being a dry crop it doesn’t sustain rains or flooding, but rice and sugarcane can ithstand disasters to a greater extent

“By fixing 700,000 hectares target for rice we want to discourage its cultivation. Rice cultivation threatens cotton in rich cotton zones like Ghotki and Sanghar. A glance at last year’s figures show that rice was grown on 745,000 hectares in 2013 against the set target of 645,000 hectares. It is an exceptional increase”, says Director General Agriculture Extension, Hidayatullah Chajjro.When it comes to sugarcane cultivation, the situation is no different. Official figures show that cane was grown on 297,000 hectares against target of 269,000 hectares in 2013, indicating increase of 10.60pc in terms of acreage. Cane cultivation considerably increased in Ghotki region where it was grown on 25,000 hectares in 2013, up from 5,300 hectares in 2012. Sugarcane’s target is increasing constantly since 2008-09. Since 2010-11, the department didn’t change sowing target of 269,000 for cane until 2013-14 when it was surpassed by 28,000 hectares.

When agriculture department fixes targets, it doesn’t allocate any target for rice cultivation in districts of Ghotki, Sukkur, Khairpur, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas. Yet significant cultivation/production is reported from these districts and it is accordingly recorded. In 2013-14 Ghotki district – located on left bank of river Indus and fed by Ghotki Feeder of Guddu Barrage – came up with rice sowing figures of 54,800 hectares against 8,500 hectares in 2007-08. Likewise, farmers in cotton growing districts of Sukkur, Sanghar and Khairpur respectively cultivated rice on 8500, 6500 and 6000 hectares in 2013-14 season.

Heavy reliance on rice cultivation is attributed to higher hybrid seed yield and fast changing seasonal variations. Changing weather patterns threaten cotton crop more than any other crop. Being a dry crop it doesn’t sustain rains or flooding but rice and sugarcane can withstand disasters to a greater extent.

But shift in crop cultivation is disturbing for small farmers, officials and water experts argue. They say if rice replaces cotton, it is bound to affect the soil fertility.

Water experts and soil scientists state that water needs of cotton, rice and sugarcane crops vary. On an average, cotton requires 36, rice 64 and cane 70 inches of water in one acre in one crop season. As sugarcane and rice are salt tolerant, they can overcome salinity and water-logging in saline and waterlogged soil.

“When sugarcane and rice are given freshwater it has a leach down effect on salts in soil. But simultaneously it can cause salinity in land located downstream where water table increases”, says a Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources official.

According to a soil expert, Aslam Rajput, due to constant use of water for high delta crops the land is not exposed to needed sunlight and air which are essential needs, and their absence make soil surface harder. Even adjacent land gets affected, he says.

President Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) Abdul Majeed Nizamani opposes sowing of high delta crops of cane and rice in dry zone. “In the long run, we will be on the losing end if we don’t address the problem now. Water needs of rice for an acre is equal to cotton’s three- acre water requirements. We are losing fertile land due to setting-up of increasing number of sugarcane mills in cotton zone. Given water crisis, the zoning system must be strictly enforced by revenue authorities by taking punitive measures”, he says.

Besides, interests of small farmers are compromised. Irrigation officials who manage water supplies confirm that since rice is being grown in banned areas, small farmers of downstream Sukkur barrage cry for water supplies. Due to the rice cultivation, the growers of Naseer Division of Rohri canal face water shortage. Irrigation and revenue departments are unable to enforce their writ by banning rice cultivation in the specified areas.

“A small farmer doesn’t have capacity to influence irrigation or government official. Its big landowners who, block water supplies to grow rice on their land in command areas of Sukkur barrage’s off-taking canals of Nara, Rohri, Khairpur east and Khairpur West where rice cultivation is otherwise banned”, says a Sukkur barrage official.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2014