PAKISTAN’S first red chilli dehydration plant, located at Kunri, will go into opera­tion in late July in the chilli growing belt of Sindh comprising Umerkot, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas districts.

Last week, the Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research discussed measures to operationalise the state-run plant. An eight-member board of management is being set up, for which the Ministry of Industries and Production is issuing a notification. The standing committee members are scheduled to visit the project shortly.

The president of Chilli Growers’ Association, two chilli traders, two progressive farmers, Smeda project director and one representative each of the Sindh agricultural department, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and the Ministry of Industries and Production will be nominated as board members.

Zeeshan Ahmed, project manager of the dehydration plant, stated that the Planning Commission of Pakistan while approving the project had left the option open to privatise the plant if it is unable to function in the public sector.

“The plant needs a working capital though the operational cost of the plant is very low. The plant has the capacity to export red chilli and earn $100m annually,” Mr Ahmed said.

The dehydration plant has been established on two acres at a total cost of Rs244m against the original estimate of Rs272m under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). At the time of approval, the Planning Commission had approved Rs23m for three years to meet the operational cost of the project. However, only Rs5m was released as seed capital to allow the plant to run on self-sustainable basis.

Due to the faulty mode of fund releases, the project originally scheduled to be completed in 18 months, was completed in five years in 2015. This led to cost escalation by 37pc.

From July to December, the plant will dehydrate red chilli while in the off-season it has in-built capacity to process other agricultural products such as onion, garlic, etc.

According to Mr Ahmed the plant will serve as a ‘common facility centre’ for growers and traders of chilli and other agro products.

The three districts of Sindh grow two types of chillies. These areas were famous for ‘dandi-cut’ [round] red chillies but now farmers have started a new breed of chilli known as ‘Marvi’ [long]. Across the border, Marvi is known as ‘Sanam’.

The per acre production of ‘Marvi’ is 250 maunds against 100 maunds of ‘dandi-cut’. As compared to ‘dandi cut’, ‘Marvi’ is now getting popular among growers in view of its high yield and high profits.

The country’s total current production of red chilli is 100,000 tonnes a year. Sindh’ chilli belt contributes 90pc of the country’s red chillies production .

An accurate assessment of the number of chilli growers in Sindh is not available but it is known that the number of small chilli growers is increasing. The vast majority of these farmers grow chilli on less than 10 acres and few commercial growers cultivate the crop on more than 50 acres.

One of the critical problems which have hampered Pakistan’s export of red chilli is the level of aflatoxin in the crop.

It is envisaged to certify samples of chillies free from aflatoxin to promote exports. The usage of dehydration plant and dryers are the key technologies in the field of agriculture to overcome the problem of fungus. If chillies are dried immediately and completely after harvesting, the chances of aflatoxin are virtually eliminated.

Chilli growers are also facing the presence of phytophthora root rot and bud mite. These diseases can also be handled by the use of modern practice during pre- and post-harvest stages, according to project officials.

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, May 30th, 2016