A MARKED decline is being reported in cultivation of rice crop in Sindh this year due to water shortage. Sowing is still under way as water flows at the three provincial barrages started showing improvement only in July.

With late sowing, farmers say, crop becomes vulnerable to pest attacks. Officials of agriculture department hope to achieve the sowing target of 642,000 hectares. Up to July 16, 36 per cent of the sowing target had been achieved and if compared to that of last year it is around 16 per cent below the target of 323,250 hectares brought under rice cultivation in the same period a year ago.

Rice production in Sindh is around 2.6 to 2.7 million tons per annum.

“My land is located at the head reach of Jarki minor in Badin but I am unable to get water. This is in spite of the fact that I have access to officials of the irrigation department and Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority, what to talk of the poor small farmers,” laments Abdul Majeed Nizamani, president Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB).

According to him, he had prepared paddy nursery on 400 acres but only 25 per cent of it was transplanted while expenses on the remaining 75 per cent of land have gone down the drain. “I’ve now decided to skip rice cultivation for this 75 per cent of land and wait for Rabi crop as water is not available in our area. Despite hectic efforts I couldn’t get it,” he says.

Even after improvement in flows of water at the Sukkur Barrage upstream, the situation in command area of its right bank hasn’t improved much whereas growers are waiting for water to prepare nursery. Areas particularly those fed by the north-western canal of Sukkur Barrage are without water in Qambar-Shahdadkot district.

A SAB representative, Ishaq Mugheri from Shahdadkot, says the Saifullah Magsi canal feeds around 153,000 acres but almost the entire area was without water until July 18. “Those who had managed to lift water for nurseries are making a bid to save them from drying or burning,” he says attributing the shortage due to internal mismanagement of water distribution system within Sindh.

The drop in rice cultivation has affected the sale of hybrid and other seeds in the market. Seed supplier Ghaffar Sheikh from Larkana says his sale has been hit by 40 per cent as compared to last year.

“Our sale is badly affected whereas growers are in double jeopardy. Those who used local company’s seed for nurseries had to go for re-sowing as their nurseries got overage and they couldn’t transplant it in farmlands. They can use hybrid seed but now time of sowing is running out fast, so their expenses on per acre production are also increasing,” he adds.