LAHORE: Different growers’ organizations reacting to the loss caused by the record monsoon rains and flood water to different crops have urged the government to extend financial help to those who suffered loss enabling them to be ready for the next crops.
Aamer Hayat Bhandara, Co-founder of the Agriculture Republic and a progressive farmer from Pak-Pattan area, while talking to the Business Recorder said that rains disturbed growers as they were on the stage of preparing land but heavy rains ruined their preparations every time. “It will delay the sowing of autumn maize which would make a negative impact on the yield,” he claimed.
Similarly, he said that rice which was at the pollination stage also got affected due to rains and it will lead to lower productivity. He said these rains also affected cotton and date-palm growers. However, the rice being sown right now might have some advantage over the water, he added.
Aamer Hayat Bhandara said small and medium-scale farmers are normally dependent on the arhtis in the market and there is no insurance so most of the farmers would be under informal debt for the longer term. “I don’t think there is any strong policy by the government for the existing loss and the future financial support to sow the next crop after devastation by the rains,” he added.
Farmers Associates Pakistan (FAP) Director, Farooq Ahmad Bajwa claimed that agriculture is 30 percent less in 2022 as compared to 2021 because of the record rains. He said all the crops including maize, maize as sown as fodder, fodder, cotton and others have suffered huge losses.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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