Shortage of pesticides has been cited as one of the main factors undermining the present cotton crop that was widely infested by worms of a variety, particularly American and army sundis.

Farmers ran from pillar to post but the pesticides they required were either unavailable in the market or stocks were spurious. That added to the woes of farmers. As a result, extensive damage was inflicted on the crop.

Assessments place the crop size about three billion bales below the target, down to about eight million bales. It is still early for a final figure but there is complete agreement that the crop has been badly hit, indeed devastated. Its implications could be scuttled textile exports and enhanced import of raw cotton.

Any drop in the former and increase in the latter would be translated into losses for the economy as cotton counts for over 60 per cent contribution to Pakistan’s exports and is, in many ways, the strongest aspect of the national economy. The textile industry carrying the highest investment for any industrial sector comes under pressure.

(This is not to say that textile millers suffer; they have worked out a system by now that keeps them in robust financial health regardless of what happens to the cotton crop and the farmers. They have developed defences that protect their interests under all eventualities and circumstances.)

Losses to the crop are unfortunate but the situation has not emerged from the blue. Government policies for the import of pesticides were bound to create a crisis at some stage and that happened this year. Given the lay of the land, the sword of shortage of pesticides will remain hanging over all crops, not just cotton, as long as some basic changes are not made with regard to import of pesticides in finished form, local formulation and production within the country.

Incentives need to be given for local production of pesticides and the firms that invest in the sector should be made responsible for ensuring sufficient quantity of quality pesticides. Without local production, shortage would continue to haunt crops and there would be a crisis every few years.

The sector, in short, needs to be supported and facilitated to ensure that there is no sudden scarcity of pesticides; the present policy follows a totally negative line that is detrimental to the protection of crops on a sustained basis and contains germs for disaster in the agriculture sector every now and then.

The governments, both provincial in Punjab and Sindh, the country’s two cotton producing regions and the federal establishment that oversees the agriculture sector with benign disdain and noteworthy lack of expertise from Islamabad, have been constantly campaigning against spurious pesticides but without any reportable success. The campaign is carried out year after year and reaches a high pitch during the cotton season but the market remains inundated with sub-standard supplies.

A shortage of genuine pesticides inevitably leads to a ride for the farmers; their woes are compounded as, on the one side, the crop is damaged and on the other, they are forced to spend their resources on pesticides of dubious quality to protect the crop. They get doubly hit as all measures of the government to eliminate, at least restrict, the supply of dubious pesticides fail.

This is one view of the pesticides business. That wouldn’t be there if the governmental policies were geared for promoting local formulation of pesticides; if production could be undertaken in the country, so much the better.

But as it is, policies favour pure imports in preference over local formulation and the government has effectively blocked local production by its patronage for the distribution of imports in a finished form. Duty slabs ensure that initiative from within the country is not only undermined but that it is completely thwarted.

Some pesticides are imported in finished form while formulation of some others is locally carried out. Logically, local formulation should be backed but duties make it so that a few of the pesticides become costlier after local formulation. That is pure and simple patronage of imports in finished form. That has been a hurdle for the development and expansion of local formulation.

This has also been instrumental in giving an edge to some of the multi- nationals over national pesticide companies and has led to higher prices of products by multi-nationals in comparison with local companies prices in some cases.

Some local companies claim that farmers have over paid Rs. 4,499 billion rupees to foreign companies in terms of higher prices over the years. This is substantiated by the price list for five products for the period 1998 to 2001. These are widely used pesticides.

The difference ranges between one hundred percent and even higher price to a lesser but still substantial cost for farmers. In one case, the price of one litter is Rs. 460 by multi nationals while local companies charge an amount of Rs. 225 for the same quantity.

For another product, the price per litter is Rs.2, 800 by former companies while national companies charge Rs. 850 for the product. This is a staggering difference for a product that contains no variation of quality, whatever the source of import or the company marketing it. Price difference between the other three pesticides is less but from the viewpoint of the farmer, still considerable.

There is no policy for local production at this point in time. What is required is encouragement to investors who are willing to step forward to make the deal feasible. There can be no hope for investment in production of pesticides if the duty structure remains the same for imports in finished form, local formulation and local production.

What the government must do without delay is come up with a policy for the sector that makes investment in local production of pesticides feasible for investors.

They should be given a tax holiday for a specific period, taxes and duties for import of raw materials should be lowered for them to enable the industry to compete with imports.

The present dispensation that gives a wide edge to importers is made for shortages. It is a system that allows profits without responsibility and no one but the government is responsible for this sorry state.