WHILE farmers were still reeling under the shock of 2010 flash floods that mostly hit areas on the right bank of River Indus, Kharif season in 2011 didn’t go down well for them. Lower Sindh region was battered by rains that damaged standing Kharif crops on a large scale particularly in districts on the left bank of Indus. The devastating rains made Rabi cultivation difficult resulting in losses to rural economy and choking cash inflows in the rural economy..

Two major breaches in the Indus River dykes led to flooding of vast areas of farmlands in upper Sindh and in Thatta district (lower Sindh) in August and September 2010. Growers, however, produced a bumper wheat crop (4.2 million tons) as silt deposits increased fertility of the land. The government provided free seed and fertiliser to salvage the agriculture sector of the province though amidst questionable distribution process.

In 2011 the monsoon rains damaged cotton and sugarcane crops and vegetables in the lower Sindh region. Farmers had made the first picking of cotton when monsoon lashed their crop in September. The rain that continued for several days spelled disaster displacing lakhs of people, destroying their crops and perishing their livestock.

Acreage in cotton crop had increased in 2011 after growers made impressive gains in 2010 harvests when price of cotton ballooned to Rs5,000-6,000 per 40kg. Bringing more area under cotton cultivation was quite natural after the massive gain, but the farmers suffered enormous losses due to flooding of their land and damage to their crops. In 2011 cotton was sown on 6,64,192 hectares against 4,57,043 hectares in 2010.

Sindh was all set to produce a bumper cotton crop, but the torrential rains destroyed the crop over 4,04,993 hectares. The miseries of the farmers did not end here. They didn’t get a reasonable rate for the left over crop. The prices crashed and they say that they were now getting Rs800-900 per maund of cotton. In 2010, around 35,36,783 bales were produced while as per second estimate, it was 23,97,202 bales in 2011.

The rice crop was also bumper in upper Sindh although the crop in lower region was damaged. However, the gain made in upper Sindh off-set the rain-related losses to the crop. Again, the rice growers did not get reasonable price for their crop because of the connivance of middlemen, millers and exporters.

Sindh Agriculture Secretary Agha Jan Akhtar claims that the international market price for rice is stable.. “Rice growers should get not less than Rs900 per maund,” he adds. The Sindh government has sought intervention of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to buy the crop and ensure a reasonable price for the farmers.

“Sindh has produced around 3.6-3.7 million tons of paddy. Its prices are being kept artificially low. The TCP just needs approval of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC),” he says.

Ishaq Mughairi, a rice grower from Sindh, says that farmers are getting Rs700 per maund for the crop. “Rice millers are making unnecessary deductions on various grounds. Nobody takes notice of our predicament though our crop is ready since October,” he says and adds that there are overhead charges of transportation and labour besides rising cost of inputs.

The government admitted 25-30 per cent losses to cane crop due to rains. Delay in draining out rainwater from fields led to damage to the crop. Besides, farmers also lost autumn crop cultivation, which accounts for 65-70 per cent of total cultivation of crop, due to delay in commencement of crushing season, leaving cane producers high and dry.

Rains also damaged tomato, onion and chilly. Onion nurseries were ready when it started pouring heavily. Onion is growing on around 80,000 acres and almost half of it has been damaged by rains.

According to Mian Saleem, President Red Chilly Growers Association, when the crop is healthy they usually get 100,000-125,000 tons of chilly. “But due to rains half of it has been damaged.”

The growers had just started picking when the downpour started damaging the crop,” he says.

Insofar as Rabi sowing is concerned, initial estimates indicate that acreage in wheat will drop as compared to last year’s figures. Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) President believes that wheat cultivation will not cross 2.5 million acres this season as availability of water is feared even in non-perennial areas of Kotri barrage’s two canals.

He linked the possible drop in acreage to non-transparent distribution of the promised inputs package in rain-hit areas, delay in crushing cane by mills and lack of financial resources with farmers after they suffered monetary losses in Kharif season.

But Sindh Agriculture Secretary Agha Jan Akhtar disagrees. “I think acreage will remain the same as wheat is being sown in upper Sindh region.

Even if the land is under water in lower Sindh, the difference will be covered by increased cultivation in the upper Sindh and there will be no issue of food security,” he says expecting four million tons of wheat production in 2012.

Figures indicate that so far 9,08,784 hectares (second estimate) have been brought under wheat cultivation which is 90 per cent of the sowing. In 2010 it was sown over 11,44,367 hectares with a yield of 4.2 million tons. The land’s fertility has improved in the wake of floods and silt deposits on both sides of katcha.

Meanwhile, sunflower production is likely to have an edge over other winter crops. Following 2010 floods, under USAID package inputs were given free of cost to around 93,000 acres in seven flood-hit districts, mainly in upper Sindh. This year again the Sindh government has procured 600 metric tons of sunflower seed to promote it as an alternative crop in the rain-hit areas of Badin and Thatta where farmers had been cultivating it.

“We have procured sunflower seed for 300,000 acres. Each farmer (2kg seed per acre) having land up to 25 acres is entitled to get it. It is anticipated that acreage will increase by around 100,000 because following last year’s experience of upper Sindh farmers they must have realised its potential and as a better alternate crop for winter,” says Akhtar.

Sunflower cultivation will help save the government import bill. Its cultivation is under way and will continue till March. It is a short duration and low delta crop and is normally grown on 500,000-600,000 acres in Sindh. Recovery of oil in sunflower is said to be around 43 per cent.

Upper Sindh farmers, however, believe that they are unable to grow pulses and gram in winter due to degradation in land’s quality on account of salinity and in Mahesar’s words the drainage system that is supposed to control water-logging simply doesn’t work.

There is continuous decline in pulses’ acreage since 1980s; therefore farmers have started cultivating wheat as an alternative crop in upper Sindh.