LARKANA, Sept 17: Although the recent rains have already dealt a severe blow to the agricultural economy of Sindh by washing away standing crops, growers and their representative organisations fear more losses to them if rainwater is not flushed out from their cultivable lands within a fortnight.
The paddy, cotton and sugarcane crops on both banks of the Indus River sustained great damage, Gada Hussain Mahesar, senior vice president of the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) told Dawn on Sunday.
Paddy in the province is cultivated on more than 2.4 million acres and almost half the crop has been washed away, according to experts’ estimates.
The 30/32-day-old paddy crop can withstand stagnant water in the fields but it was 15/20-day-old when it started raining.
“They crop is at a high risk of getting damaged if immediate measures are not taken to flush out stagnant water,” Mr Mahesar warned.
Reports from the upper and lower areas of Sindh say that that all vital crops — rice, cotton and sugarcane — have been badly affected, though not destroyed.
Expressing his concern over the extent of damage, the SAB leader said that it was already very late when irrigation water reached the paddy crop areas and unfortunately rains hit the immature crop.
Similarly, he added, the cotton and sugarcane crops started turning grey because of untimely rains.
Reports from Dokri, Mirokhan, Shahdadkot, Qambar, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Kandhkot, Garhi Khairo and some other parts of the province speak of natural or deliberate breaches in saline water drains and backflow of water causing further damage to crops.
The drains and waterways not de-silted or cleared of obstructions for years blocked the flow of rainwater towards its natural course.Moreover, the officials concerned of Wapda and Scarp (Salinity Control and Reclamation Project) are widely blamed for the situation turning dangerous because of their indifferent attitude. Cuts inflicted in the banks of various canals at different points caused flooding while overtopping of water due to obvious reasons inundated hundreds of acres of paddy crop land.
At the moment, up to one foot high rainwater is standing in paddy fields, according to Mr Mahesar.
Fertiliser has lost its effectiveness and pesticides do not work in such a situation, he says.
Most growers in Sindh fear that rainwater flowing down to Qubo Saeed Khan and Jacobabad from Balochistan would definitely cause further harm to crops in Ratodero, Garhi Yasin, Garhi Khairo, Shahdadkot, Kashmore and certain other areas on its way.
Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) Larkana president Siraj Rashdi puts damage to the paddy crop in Larkana division alone at 60 per cent.
Sharing his views with Dawn, he said that paddy in Larkana was cultivated on around 200,000 acres besides 250,000 acres in Qambar-Shahdadkot district. He held floodwater from Balochistan hitting Qambar-Shahdadkot district responsible for more damage to the crop.
According to an SCA assessment, sugarcane and cotton crops have sustained 40pc damage while guava orchards in Larkana district have suffered damage to the same extent.
Criticising the government, Mr Rashdi said that the entire province should have been declared the calamity-hit area.
Subscribing to his views, Larkana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) president Khair Muhammed Shaikh, who is also the PPP Larkana district vice president, said the government should take extraordinary measures to cope with the extraordinary situation.
Farmers, growers, daily wage earners and khatedars (tillers) all had been badly affected one way or another, he said while commenting on the paddy crop damage.
Larkana division alone exported rice worth Rs50 billion every year, he observed, and estimated the damage to the paddy crop in the division at Rs20 billion.
“We export 1.78 million tonnes of rice and earn $2 million in foreign exchange,” said Mr Mahesar, who feared a heavy loss if prompt action was not taken to meet the rice export target.