HYDERABAD: The Sindh Abadgar Board has accused officials of the National Fertiliser Company of pocketing the subsidy given to them by the government to provide imported urea to growers at Rs1,300 per bag.
The leaders of the board who met here on Sunday said the growers were not getting the fertiliser at the subsidised rate, therefore, and the government should withdraw the subsidy.
They expressed concern over increase in prices of agricultural inputs, destruction of irrigation system in the province, low rates of crops and unfair distribution of relief goods among rain-hit growers.
Because of the government’s ill-directed policies, the per acre yield in Pakistan was the lowest even in the region, they said.
They said the growers had pinned great hopes on the people’s government, which did increase the price of wheat to Rs300 per 40 kg during the first year but later it started pursuing policies harmful to agriculture.
They said the prices of agricultural machinery and diesel were increased, 20-hour loadshedding was imposed and the price of urea was doubled. All this caused immense harm to agriculture sector.
They said last year’s floods and this year’s heavy rains inflicted huge losses of about Rs1,000 billion on agriculture sector in Sindh.
The 16 per cent GST on agricultural inputs aggravated the situation and, as a result, growers reduced the use of tractor, fertiliser and pesticides, they said, adding that it would seriously affect the crop yield.
They said the internal and external debt had risen to $120 billion. If growers were provided facilities, wheat produced by them could fetch Rs550 billion instead of Rs220 billion, cotton Rs500 billion instead of Rs250 billion and per acre yield of sugarcane could be increased to 1,500 maunds per acre from 600 maund per acre, enabling the government to pay back all the loans within two years.
They demanded that fertiliser manufacturers should be provided gas five days a week, 16 per cent GST on tractors and agriculture machinery should be withdrawn, growers should be given loan at the rate of eight per cent mark-up for the purchase of inputs, tractors and tube wells should be installed free of cost like in India and electricity tariff for tube wells should be Rs4 per unit.
They called for revamping of the irrigation system with the help of the people concerned, closing direct outlets and putting an end to the tampering with water supply system.
They said drainage capacity of all big and small drains should be increased by 400 per cent and the Right Bank Outfall Drain be extended up to the sea.
They said the breaches made in channels and drains during last year’s floods and this year’s heavy rains be plugged and encroachments on canals, channels, saline water drains and natural outlets, especially Dhoro Puran, be removed immediately.
They criticised delay in the start of sugarcane crushing season and delayed payment and illegal deductions by sugar mills and called for an end to deductions in payment to cane growers at the pretext of inferior quality of sugarcane.
They said payment should be made within 15 days of delivery of cane and last year’s dues be paid by Jan 15. They said import of tomatoes and vegetables from India should be stopped because local production was already in the market.
They said that heavy rains had seriously affected the quality of rice seed in lower Sindh and, therefore, the government should provide them seed for Kharif crop.
They said the price of hybrid rice seed which had increased by 150 per cent in a year should be brought down to last year’s level and propaganda by multinational companies about its 150 maund per acre yield be stopped.
They protested against unfair distribution of wheat and sunflower seed and fertiliser in the calamity-affected areas and demanded a judicial inquiry. They also called for an inquiry into alleged theft of 700 maunds of sunflower seed in Thatta district valued at Rs25.48 million and called for a probe into anomalies in the sale of urea.
The growers’ meeting was presided over by SAB president Abdul Majeed Nizamani.