THE Sindh agriculture department aims to meet important development targets it missed this fiscal year. The department sources said it faced different kinds of issues in the execution of projects like the installation of solar powered and conventional tubewells and provision of bulldozers to every division of the province.

Problems marred tractors’ promotional schemes as well, leading to an inquiry by a federal government agency.

As a result, according to official sources, the provincial agriculture department would be surrendering around Rs1bn to the Sindh finance department by the end of the fiscal year owing to the non-utilisation of funds. “But we will included this Rs1bn in our Annual Development Programme (ADP) 2016-17 that is pitched at Rs5.8bn against Rs4.5bn of 2015-16”, said an official.

An official source said the department got Rs2.46bn from the finance department in 2015-16 till May, and from it, by June 30 Rs1.5bn would mostly likely be spent. Apart from delayed financial releases, the procedural formalities of the Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (SPPRA) contributed to the delays in the tendering and procurement process so that eventually the provision of different implements was affected.

The provincial agriculture department would be surrendering around Rs1bn to the Sindh finance department by the end of the fiscal year owing to the non-utilisation of funds

The scheme of solar powered pumps/tubewells has not been initiated as the question of subsidy was being finalised. The agriculture department had recommended a cost sharing formula of 50-50pc, 70-30pc and then 80-20pc. Eventually the 80-20pc formula was approved by the government, according to an official source.

It is stipulated that 100 such tube-wells, in addition to conventional ones, would be provided subsidy to farmers.The overall cost of this agriculture engineering wing’s scheme is estimated at Rs1bn. A sum of Rs248.14m has been earmarked in FY2016-17.

Mahmood Nawaz Shah of Sindh Abadgar Board says the government should increase the number of total solar powered tubewells as the figure announced in the budget speech is just a peanut.

‘The government should increase the number of total solar powered tubewells as the figure announced in the budget speech is just a peanut’

Likewise, two separation allocations of Rs1,002.15m and Rs1,500m have been made for the subsidised purchase of wheel type tractors for farmers in two on-going schemes. The on-going scheme of installation of tubewells with 50pc subsidy has been allocated Rs133.58m out of the estimated cost of Rs198.58m. Supply of power sprayer scheme with 50pc subsidy has been earmarked as Rs42.78m against the total cost of Rs51.07m.

Growers believe that instead of providing conventional tube-wells the government should promote solar powered tube-wells by diverting funds subsidy allocated for conventional ones.

“Currently, prices of diesel are somewhat affordable but nobody knows when they might start showing a steep rise. If the government can promote solar tubewells in every district of the province it will encourage growers to switch over to this source of energy”, argues Nabi Bux Sathio, general secretary, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture.

The delayed releases, according to a senior agriculture officer, also affected the procurement of six bulldozers for which Rs120m were allocated in this year’s budget. “We were first given an installment of Rs60m out of Rs120m in October 2015, but the remaining 50pc was released in the last week of May. The inadequate releases. affected procedural formalities. We need around a 90-day delivery time for such procurement”, he disclosed.

The Sindh government plans to provide 5,000 tractors on subsidy to farmers, but it is alleged that the Sindh government, had earlier specified a particular type of tractor in a clear departure from past policy of leaving it to the growers’ choice to buy a tractor of any brand.

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, June 27th, 2016