HYDERABAD: The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) which met here on Sunday, has urged the incoming federal and Sindh governments to control prices of farm inputs and rationalise prices of agricultural commodities commensurate with cost of input.

The meeting, chaired by Syed Mahmood Nawaz Shah, expressed the hope that lawmakers would accord priority to agriculture sector and create an environment where it could perform to its optimum level.

The meeting discussed many issues highlighting the challenges being faced by this sector.

The board also expressed its concern over irregularities in the fertiliser trading, and noted that urea was the prime example as it was the largely used fertiliser in the country.

Hopes new govt will ensure effective control on price, supplies

SAB members told the meeting that every other month urea price had been going up, pointing out that over the last 12 months alone, the price increased from Rs2,900 per bag to Rs4,649.

The meeting said it was condemnable that even at this increased rate, the commodity was not being made available to growers at the minimum retail price.

It noted that when companies increased prices overnight, inventory with companies and dealers would become huge and get them profits in billions. Still, it added, urea was sold at a price over and above the maximum retail price.

According to SAB estimate, Rs60bn to 70b had been made by profiteers in the sale of urea to growers over the last six months alone.

“There seems to be a willful smoke screen created to plunder,” the meeting claimed, and urged government to bring order to the urea business.

In addition to urea, the rates of DAP, potash, pesticides, fuel and other nutrients continued to rise, in some cases on a daily basis without any checks and balances.

The meeting condemned this lack of governance, and said this was hurting growers and consumers of farm produce, besides the economy.

The meeting recommended that efficiency should be created in seed eco-system. It wondered that it was about one year now that no meeting of the Provincial Seed Council had been held although it was supposed to be held regularly.

The meeting noted that new seed registration was slow and, therefore, growers were left with no other option but to continue using obsolete or adulterated seeds.

It also noted that biotechnology was being completely ignored. It urged that with a strong regulatory regime, Pakistan should embark on use of biotechnology in seeds and encourage private sector to conduct research to help enhance availability of quality seeds that could resist climate change effects and drought as well as pest and disease.

The meeting was attended by Dr Bashir Nizamani, Syed Nadeem Shah, Mohammed Aslam Mari, Malook Nizamani, Syed Salman Shah, Mustafa Nawaz Shah, Malik Nizamani, Shahnawaz Behmani and others.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2024