EITHER it is a case of misplaced priority or lack of capacity, agricultural development, including livestock, continues to suffer in Sindh because of poor financial releases or tardy pace of utilisation of budgeted funds despite last year’s rationalising of allocations for uplift schemes.

The development outlay, as per CM’s budget speech last year, stood at Rs.4.4bn. Of last year’s promised allocation, agriculture department sources say, 50-52pc — around Rs2.613bn — were released and 98pc of it was utilised until closure of financial year 2014-15.

The tractor scheme was marred by lack of transparency and alleged provision of tractors to the privileged and a majority of ordinary farmers were overlooked. Growers were skeptical about the provision of 1,600 tractors as soon as it was announced. And not surprisingly, the entire process was initiated and completed in a couple of days. When the scheme was first launched in 2009-10, balloting was held in CM house in presence of farmers’ representatives. This practice has now been done away with.

Even otherwise this fiscal year has been a bad year for farmers owing to low prices of major crops. Growers didn’t get adequate price for seed cotton in 2014. This was followed by declining price trend in paddy crop, sugarcane and wheat. Having failed to enforce its notified price of Rs182 per 40kg of sugarcane, the Sindh government came up with Rs3bn subsidy (Rs12 per 40kg of cane) for growers to be released through the very sugarmills that refused to buy cane at the initially announced official rate.

Sindh not only lacks a well defined policy framework for agricultural development, its execution machinery is also fossilised.

A senior Sindh agriculture department official said the size of 2015-16 provincial ADP is around Rs4,500bn with funds likely to be given to provision of tractors, bulldozers and for some new schemes like introduction of hybrid seed technology for different varieties of crops, etc. About 12 new schemes with two each of research and mechanisation, five of extension services and three others are proposed. A sum of Rs1,500m-2,000m is estimated for tractor subsidy, Rs250m for bulldozers, another Rs100m for hybrid seed introduction, Rs100-150m for reclamation of saline soil. Agriculture implements — a regular feature — are to be provided Rs100m.

“Isn’t it ironic that government allocates Rs4.4bn for development sector and releases hardly Rs2.4bn out of it but comes up with a huge subsidy of Rs3bn on cane? It is just a strange way of managing finances and agriculture which is mainstay of our economy”, says Mahmood Nawaz Shah, vice president Sindh Abadgar Board.

Sindh is executing multi-billion rupees World Bank funded Sindh Agriculture Growth Project (SAGP). However, the WB representatives, associated in its monitoring, are of the view that the pace of implementation is considerably slow as a result of governance-related problems. The agriculture department secretary has been changed about seven times in last couple of years. Same is the case with the project director.

A $187m ‘Sindh irrigated Agriculture Productivity Enhancement’ project has also been finalised and is a part of 2015-16 budget.

Under this project 5,500 watercourses are to be lined and high efficiency irrigation system like drip and sprinkler are to be installed. Laser land levelers are to be provided. The project’s beneficiaries will be farmers with up to five hectares landholding and medium-sized farmers up to 20 hectares. Around 60,000 farmers will ultimately benefit from these land improvements.

The Sindh’s livestock and fisheries sector was hit by poor financial releases. Tharparkar, hit by drought for the third straight year, was promised a Rs2,070m ADP but only Rs550m — around 25pc — were finally released by close of current fiscal year. Of this amount, 80pc has been utilised.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, June 15th, 2015

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