Call for ridding flooded farms of water

HYDERABAD: The representatives of the farmers' community have demanded of the government of draining out the standing water from the farmlands so that they can timely sow the wheat crop of the Rabi (winter) season.

At a meeting of Sindh Chamber of Agriculture here on Friday, the growers estimated that around 40 percent of land brought under cultivation of wheat crop was available for sowing while the rest was
still under water.

If the efforts (to drain water) are not expedited than the wheat production will likely to fall than what was produced last year, observed President SCA Dr Syed Nadeem Qamar, who presided over the meeting.
Dr Qamar also called for starting distribution of free seed and fertilizer to the flood hit farmers as announced by the government.

The meeting also took exception to fixing the price of Rs 154 per 40 kilogram of sugarcane crop and asked the government for a rate of Rs 250 instead.


The meeting also noted with concern the damage caused to the irrigation system by the rains and floods, and wondered as to how the water supply through the damaged irrigation channels would be managed.

Drawing the government's attention towards that problem, they said without proper supply and drainage of water the production of farmlands would suffer.

"We have already lost our Kharif crops to floods and now if we are not helped to kick-start sowing of the Rabi crop than the agriculture sector will slump," they said.

The meeting also discussed the issue of providing soft loans to the affected farmers.


It also appealed the government to take notice of what was termed the sudden drop in the provision of loans by Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL).

Muhammad Khan Sarejo, Finance Secretary of SCA, spokes of the supply of `substandard quality seeds and fertilizer in the market'
saying they affect the crop production as well as the quality of cultivable land.

The federal and Sindh governments, instead of providing free seeds and fertilizer, should handover cash to the farmers so that they can purchase seeds and fertilizer themselves, he suggested.

Syed Aijaz Nabi Shah, Mir Abdul Karim Talpur, Misri Mallah, Zahid Hussain Bhurgari, Khadim Ali Shah and Roshan Khoso, among other
growers' representatives, were present in the meeting. (APP)