HYDERABAD / LARKANA: Paddy growers in Sindh have seconded their leaders’ apprehensions about a further slump in prices leading to heavy financial losses as well as export of the commodity.

While a distress call was given by the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) only a day earlier, the president of its Tando Mohammad Khan chapter, Abdul Jalil Nizamani, on Monday termed the situation ‘alarming’ for paddy growers.

He has written to the deputy commissioner that paddy growers were not getting a fair return against their crop. “The offered price is far below the actual cost of production,” he said, pointing out that prices of agricultural inputs, including seeds, fertilizer and pesticide, besides the cost of water, diesel and labour, had risen sharply.

The paddy selling rate does not cover these expenses, leaving the growers in severe financial distress. This would ultimately force paddy growers to opt for some other crop which would be disastrous, not only for farmers but also for the national economy, he cautioned.

Mr Nizamani repeated SAB’s call for opening paddy procurement centres, and said Passco should purchase the crop after fixation of its support price at a minimum of Rs4,000 per 40kg.

He said government agencies should act to stabilise market and protect farmers from exploitation by middlemen and rice millers.

He also called for grant of subsidies on essential farm inputs in order to reduce burden on growers.

On Sunday, SAB President Mahmood Nawaz Shah, chairing a meeting of members in Hyderabad, had warned that the situation had turned alarming. He reminded the authorities concerned that paddy is the largest crop of Kharif and one of the major export commodities.

Expressing his serious concern over the market trend, Mr Shah noted that over the last three years, paddy prices had declined from Rs3,500 per 40kg to Rs2,200 per 40kg.

In Larkana, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Sindh Emir Kashif Saeed Sheikh met various delegations to hear their grievances.

Speaking to a delegation of paddy growers, he expressed his deep concern over the sharp decline in prices of the commodity and unjust cuts applied by rice millers while buying the crop.

He said Sindh government should take immediate steps to support paddy growers. It should promptly fix the official support price and also ensure its strict implementation, Sheikh said.

He observed that the government was destroying agriculture sector to benefit capitalists. The same injustice was previously done to wheat growers, he noted.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2025