Regardless of one's opinion and assessment of Pakistan's agriculture, its performance and marketing of the produce, there is a scant possibility of disagreement on the sad state of its vegetable sector : it works to the farmer's disadvantage and consumers are forced to pay high prices for most vegetables, particularly, those regarded as the basic ingredients of local food of all varieties like onions and tomatoes.

One important factor in the doubly loosing deal has been the housing policies, followed by practically all administrations of the country, plus the wheeling dealing activities of real estate promoters. Cities were encircled by agriculture land that was used for growing vegetables to ensure continuous fresh supply of seasonal vegetables to the citizens.

Farmers carried vegetables to markets every morning and had no problem disposing off their crops and earning reasonable profits as middlemen were either not involved or worked for nominal gains in view of the accessibility of markets to the growers.

The unplanned and sprawling expansion of major habitats changed the pattern. Growing and selling vegetables kept the farmers going but that did not involve reasonable earnings. When farmers were offered lump sums for their lands, they took up the bait in the hope of finding better prospects. They either explored new avenues for earning a livelihood or moved away to relatively distant points where agriculture land could be purchased at low rates.

The deals gave them both cash and land. However, they weren't always willing to sell land and often had to accept unwelcome deals under the pressure of government officials who deployed all tactics to dispossess the farmers and share the spoils with the land developers.

Vegetables farms around cities are a thing of the past. Many people would possibly not know if they had ever existed. These people are losers; so are farmers, as they do not have direct access to the markets any more. This has resulted in higher prices, as well as the scarcity of many vegetables.

With their short and direct link to markets severed, vegetable producer's exposure to the trends in cities and tastes of citizens has become uncertain and unreliable; their knowledge of distant markets is inaccurate conjecture at best. The outcome is often a glut of some vegetables and farm grown fruits at one stage and their shortage at other times. The middlemen have stepped with their profit-oriented and exploitative methods.

The prohibitive prices of tomatoes a few weeks back were a case in point. The escalation in tomato's rates was unprecedented as the commodity hit Rs125 per kg. This was obviously a manipulated situation timed with the Eidul Fitr and amounted to being an organized rake-off operation - nothing new as the fleecing of consumers is a common practice.

But the saddest aspect of such price hikes is that the producer does not receive any benefit; he sells his produce at a low rate, while the middleman makes massive profits. The farmer is mostly ignored by the government too, a fact evident from low yield of tomatoes crops.

Land under the crop is continuously on the rise, reached 29,400 hectares in 2001-02 from 22,500 hectares in 1991-92, and was considerably more than in 1986-87 when the crop covered just 15,800 hectares.

Farmers have been trying to keep pace with the population growth but their method has been the expansion of cultivation area; yields have been static. If anything, they may be described as scuttled in comparison with the past as the use of fertilizer has increased over the years and to some extent, new technologies have augmented the farmer's efforts for obtaining higher produce.

Pakistan's farmers were obtaining 9.4 tons of tomato per hectare in 1986-87. The yield has fractionally risen over time and touched 10.6 in 91-92. The maximum crop was in 98-99 when farmers managed 11 tons per ha. This level has been achieved only once. Otherwise, output has been on a downward slope and dipped to 9.6 in 1999-00 and 2000-01.

The produce improved a little in 2001-02 when 10 tons per ha was obtained. But that is lower than the maximum in 86-87 and even that was pathetically low produce. There seems no attention to small crops or guidance for their growers. Like other crops, farmers are trying to meet the consumer's needs by bringing more land under cultivation.

Some measures need to be adopted for ensuring higher crops from tomato fields; they are indeed essential for most vegetables. Farming practices have to be updated and modern techniques should be introduced without delay. This is being done for the main cash crops and there is no reason why other farm produce should be ignored.

Inputs like quality seed, fertilizer, application of water, soil and weather conditions, staking or trellising of plants, pruning to contain plant growth to maximum productive size, weed control to eliminate or minimize competition to the crop from the weeds for light, water, nutrients and insect and disease management need to be taken up on a scientific basis to reduce fruit rot, facilitate spraying and for easier harvesting of the crop.

These aren't the requirement of tomatoes alone but are essential measures for all small crops. The present apathy towards these crops is a recipe for disaster in the sector, more so as the population is on an explosive streak.

The extension organizations of the agriculture department must start attending to vegetables if this sector is to continue serving the population. Cold storage and downstream industries infrastructure should be built to utilize the crops that are in excess of demands. That would enhance the export of vegetables.

No less important is improving the marketing of vegetables. Tomatoes, infact all vegetables, are a perishable commodity and delays in their sale, particularly in view of limited and, in the context of resources of small farmers, expensive storage facilities, cost producers a lot. In fact more than 25 per cent of the produce is destroyed.

More efficient marketing arrangements and practices that give farmers their due share are not in the interest of the producers but would mean a better deal for consumers too, if the margin of profit of the middleman is reduced.

That is possible only if the producers have options. Right now, they are at the mercy of market forces that work to the detriment of their interests.