NO paddy procurement centre has been set up as yet by the Pakistan Agricultural and Storage and Supplies Corporation (Passco) in Sindh. The corporation was asked by the federal government to start procurement drive by the end of last month or beginning of this month.

Because of Passco’s sluggishness, the small farmers are selling their

produce to local rice millers and small rice traders to feed their families and pay off their debts.

In the absence of Passco’s purchase centres, growers face risk of huge financial losses, as more than 0.5 million tons of paddy is lying in fields in the rice belt comprising Dadu, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Larkana, Shikarpur, Kashmore-Kandhkot and Jacobabad districts for procurement.

The area under paddy cultivation for FY 2009-10 season was nearly 10 per cent more than the provincial target. Paddy has been sown on more than 7,04,000 hectares against 6,42,000 hectares target. While, last year it was sown on 6,95,894 hectares, according to reports of the Extension Wing of the provincial agriculture department.

The province’s rice production is estimated to touch 5.949 million tons. Many paddy growers believe that if the procurement could start immediately, they could be saved from further financial losses.

Passco has begun procurement in Punjab.Its indifference towards Sindh has been slammed by hapless farmers. The absence/delay in procurement depresses paddy prices increasing farmers’ debt burden, said Sain Bux Bhangwar, a grower in Kandhkot, who cultivated paddy on 55 acres.

A majority of growers borrow small loans from money lenders at high interest rates for the purchase of seed, fertiliser and required services including land preparation through rented tractors. The loan has to be repaid at the time of harvest, said Banghwar Bux.

A rice grower in Shikarpur, Nabi Khan Brohi, said: “The crop in most areas has not been harvested as bulk of the growers are waiting for Passco to enter the market any time.

“If Passco takes a lot of time, most of the crop would be picked up by rice millers, but not at the government fixed rate,” he observed.

Akhund Ghulam Mohammad, general secretary of Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, claims that disappointed growers in lower Sindh have already sold nearly 60 per cent of their paddy to rice millers.

The growers were pushed to sell their produce to rice millers because they wanted to prepare their lands for timely sowing of wheat. And any delay would have risked wheat cultivation,” he added

According to crop calendar posted on the website of the Sindh Agriculture Department, the growers should start sowing wheat from November 7 of every year. But, this time wheat cultivation had not set off on time and may be delayed by a month or more.

It is hardly possible that Passco would be able to start buying paddy from growers as per schedule, said members of the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) from Hyderabad.

Officials in the provincial food department and Passco told this scribe that rice millers’ reluctance to lease out their premises has proved a major cause of Passco’s delay in paddy procurement.

But the rice millers deny the allegation. “How come the procurement activity started in Punjab while in Sindh it is inordinately delayed at the cost of poor growers, commented Arif Hussain Mahesar, president Sindh and Balochistan Rice Mills Association?

Some rice millers have refused to allow Passco to use their premises because it had failed to make timely payments. Fateh Mohammad, a rice miller in Larkana, said: “Last season their businesses were hit as Passco did not make payments to them on time for using their mill spaces.”

Passco officials told this scribe they were trying hard to start procurement process.

Zonal head of Passco at Mehar, Syed Bhoral Shah, said: “Efforts have been further expedited and it is hoped that rice procurement drive would start within next couple of days.

The growers have urged the government to ensure procurement of paddy through Passco without further delay so that they could start wheat sowing on time.