HYDERABAD: Sindh Abadgdar Board (SAB) which met here on Sunday expressed its scepticism over Rs1.8tr Kissan Package announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the wake of flood devastation last year observing that that four months had passed but no potent intervention had been seen as yet.

The meeting was chaired by SAB vice president Mahmood Nawaz Shah. It was attended by Dr Zulfikar Yousfani, Azam Rind, Dr Bashir Nizamani, Azam Rind, Malook Nizamani, Tuaha Abbasi and others.

It meeting noted that growers remained skeptic about PM’s Kissan Package. It said that water was still standing on farmlands and villages in many districts and farmers were not able to cultivate even winter crops. In this situation, the Rs1.8tr package looked like a cosmetic announcement, it added.

SAB urged government to spell out details of the package with timeline.

The meeting observed that the cost of agricultural inputs was rising incessantly due to rupee devaluation. It pointed out that prices of the urea produced with local raw material shot up twice within the last 12 months from Rs1,765 to Rs2,450. It’s pity that urea, which is largely used fertiliser, is not even available at this rate and being black-marketed by dealers/middlemen at Rs2,900 to Rs3,000. Agricultural inputs had gone beyond farmers’ reach but no action is taken against hoarders and profiteers.

Seeks timeline of delivery, dewatering of farmlands

The meeting warned that this funneling out of billions of rupees from agricultural economy would have a negative impact on food security amid the persisting crisis and would aggravate poverty. It is likely to affect urban economy and industry to which agriculture provides raw material and also serves as a major consumer.

It said that since 2019, SAB has been raising the alarm that Pakistan might run into wheat and flour crisis due to increasing population, depreciating rupee, climate change and international economic scenario. It said that farmers had sold their 27m tonne wheat stock at Rs55 a kilo in March and April 2022 and today it was being sold at Rs125 to Rs140 per kilo. It said it was important to understand that in the next five years, Pakistan would require more than 34m tons of wheat. It would require 25pc per acre increase in yield to hit that 34m tonne mark.

SAB called for research and development of the disease and pest resistant seed that was suitable for short winter. It said that old varieties had lost vigour and were not responding to climate change realities. It proposed trials of production methods and developing model fields with farmers to develop best practices for enhanced production.

The said that availability of farm inputs to farmers at affordable rates should be ensured so that cultivation of wheat crop could become viable. Agriculture credit should be provided to small- and medium-sized farmers while governance should be improved to provide wheat flour to consumers, it said.

Pakistan should decide whether it needed to produce or import wheat as a long term measure, the SAB meeting stressed.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2023