THE Sindh Livestock Department recently submitted an estimated cost of milk production in the province to the Hyderabad commissioner’s office so that it could fix the price of fresh milk. One is taken aback by the perception of the government and its departments on what constitutes farmers’ rightful profit.

According to the livestock department, a dairy farmer should earn Rs20 per day from every buffalo. By their own calculations, a farmer must invest at least Rs150,000 to buy the animal, and spend another Rs5,000 every 10 days in feeding and caring for the animal. Based on these calculations, if everything goes well, dairy farmers will earn a measly 4.7 per cent per annum on their investment. This is all without accounting for mortality, rising rates for feed, cost of financing and other external factors.

This ridiculously low profit is lower than the government’s own inflation estimates and the prevailing interest rates. By contrast, investing in any Pakistani bank or government securities would provide a return of twice this amount to farmers.

On the one hand the government claims it is addressing the plight of farmers, while the departments continue to oppress hard-working people who toil in the sun and grow our food. The government’s misguided policies seem to ensure small farmers go bankrupt and farming is left to the big corporations. Our small land owners can take no more.

Omar Maniar
Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2019