The PTI had touched upon all key aspects of agriculture in its manifesto in the run-up to the July polls. However, the federal government has had no meaningful engagement with the farm sector or the farming community in its first three months in power.

The only notable contribution that the federal government has made to the agriculture sector is the reduction in the electricity tariff on tubewells by almost 50 per cent. This brought the per-unit electricity cost to Rs5.35 from Rs10.35.

However, farmers believe that this relief remains insignificant in view of the overall energy crisis. Farmers can’t avail subsidised rates for tubewell use in the absence of electricity. Although the government reduced the electricity cost, it discontinued the subsidy announced by the Nawaz government on fertiliser in one go. This hasn’t gone down well with the farming community.

“A urea fertiliser bag is now sold for Rs1,750 against the earlier subsidised rate of Rs1,350,” says Javed Kaimkhani, a Mirpurkhas-based fertiliser dealer. He adds that the price of diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser has risen to Rs3,504 per bag from Rs2,450.

Farmers use urea fertiliser while sowing Rabi and Kharif crops. Three to four bags are used for wheat sowing per acre and five to eight bags are needed for the sowing of seed cotton. Wheat sowing is being delayed as the crushing of sugar cane is still not in sight.

Optimising the existing subsidy programmes and ensuring cheaper inputs were the PTI’s major manifesto commitments.

Grower Mahmood Nawaz Shah says the government should strive to reduce the farmer’s cost of inputs to make agricultural commodities competitive and profitable in the region. “Perhaps farmers don’t need subsidies that much. But they are indeed interested in seeing their cost of inputs going down,” he asserts.

Prime Minister Imran Khan in a brief televised address to the nation in September appealed to overseas Pakistanis to donate money for the construction of dams. Besides building big dams, the government intends to work for water conservation and control losses to enhance productivity.

Mainstream political parties do not oppose the government’s plan to build Diamer Bhasha Dam. Farmers also support it, but caution that the country’s water regulator — the Indus River System Authority — must ensure judicious interprovincial water distribution, especially during the early Kharif period when Sindh needs water the most.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture Vice President Nabi Bux Sathio says the subsidy withdrawal was not a wise step. The government had announced earlier that sugar mills would start crushing from Nov 15. Barring one factory, none of the mills has begun crushing sugar cane yet, he claimed.

Kabool Kathian
President, Sindh
Chamber of Agriculture

Mr Kathian says that Sindh-based farmers had high expectations from the PTI government, but its performance has been dismal in the first 100 days. Farmers await the provision of new technology that the PTI promised them before the polls, he adds.

He says farmers need a special package in Sindh. The State Bank of Pakistan should facilitate them in terms of credit availability, which remains cumbersome. The government should honour at least half of the commitments it made in the manifesto, he adds.

Mahmood Nawaz Shah
Vice President,
Sindh Abadgar Board

Mr Shah believes the cost of production for farmers has increased in the first 100 days of the PTI. Commodity prices are under pressure while the pace of value addition to agricultural produce is slowing down, he notes.

The horticulture sector produces 13 million tonnes of vegetables and fruits annually, but suffers from low yields and high pre- and post-harvest losses of up to 35pc.

He asserts that the export value can be enhanced from the current $400-plus million to $1.5 billion. But the government has not shown any meaningful policy direction on value-added agricultural products in its first three months, he says.

He adds that the agriculture sector uses 95pc of water resources, noting that 60pc of water is lost before reaching farms while 30pc is lost on the farms. Therefore, building dams alone without paying attention to water efficiency will not solve the problem, he says.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, November 26th, 2018