HYDERABAD: If the Sindh government fails to take notice of sugar cane growers’ protest over delay in issuance of cane prices for 2017-18 and mill owners do not start crushing, the situation would be harmful for the provincial farm sector.

This was stated by Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) president Abdul Majeed Nizamani while expressing grave concern over the delay.

The situation would lead to serious consequences for the government, agriculture sector and the ruling party, he said.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, he supported the protest by sugar-cane growers in Ranipur against non-issuance of the notification about the commodity price.

He said the growers resorted to protest as the third week of November had star­ted and there was no sign of crushing.

The standing crop of sugar cane needed water while sowing of wheat was being unnecessarily delayed, he added.

He warned that the Sindh government should not undermine the legitimate interests of millions of growers only for the sake of few sugar millers because it would also endanger the future of agriculture sector.

He said the federal government had already given a subsidy of Rs10.7 billion to sugar millers on the export of one million tonne of sugar.

Such a huge amount, he said, was not given even to the flood affected farmers by the government during 2010 super floods; even agriculture sector did not get such a huge subsidy.

Still, they were reluctant to start crushing, which was highly disappointing, he said.

He said the government should not endanger country’s economy for sugar millers and the prices should be fixed while considering per acre cost of production of sugar cane crop as soon as possible.

KHAIRPUR: A large number of growers continued their protest at the main Gambat bypass roundabout on the National Highway on Tuesday, the second consecutive day.

Due to the protest, the National Highway recorded a long traffic jam stretching over miles.

Talking to local reporters, the protestors said that as per the law, the sugar-cane crushing was to be started by Nov 15 every year; however, the sugar mills had not started the process yet.

They said there were two sugar mills in Khairpur district, but the burners had not been ignited yet.

The delay tactics being used by the government, they said, caused them great loss.

In case of delay, they got minimal rates for their crop and the sowing of their next yield also got delayed, they said.

On the other hand, activists of the Sindh Progressive Committee (SPC), Khairpur, staged a demonstration in front of the local press club on Tuesday to express solidarity with sugar cane and paddy crop growers of Sindh.

District SPC convener Mir Munawwar Talpur, Ghulam Qadir Phulpoto, Karam Was­san, Yasin Sindhi and others said the sugar cane and paddy crop growers of Sindh were facing a great injustice.

They demanded that the sugar cane rate should be fixed at Rs250 per maund and that of paddy crop at Rs1,500 per maund.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2017