Steering Committee of People Network on Food and Agriculture (PNFA) formed "Working Committee on sustainable agriculture policy for Sindh" during the meeting arranged by Society for Environmental Actions, Reconstruction and Humanitarian (SEARCH) at SEARCH Office, Hyderabad in collaboration with Action Aid Pakistan.
Prof Mushtaq Mirani said, "Agriculture is an essential part of daily life in Sindh, for not only it employs approximately 60 percent of workforce of the province, but also providing food to the population and raw materials for the industries and also sustain the livelihoods".
He said majority of people in Sindh make out their existence directly or indirectly from farm- related economic activities. He said, "Illogical use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers has led to soil deterioration, degradation of biodiversity, environmental poisoning, and lowering nutrition of food crops apart from increased poverty and the poor health". Killing pests through chemical pesticides also kill all life forms including natural enemies of pests and those which are necessary for the fertility of land.
Punhal Sario President Sindh Hari Porhiyat Council said that it is observed that Corporate farming in different parts of Sindh is ongoing silently, which is leading to food insecurity, hunger, poverty. Already Sindh's 72 percent population is food insecure, but Sindh government is not serious about the formation of Sindh Agriculture Policy which is a grave threat for the agriculture of Sindh.
Taj Mari peasants leader said, "Corporate Farming Ordinance (CFO) was passed in year 2001, under which the listed corporations can lease land in the country for a period of 99 years, broken into two periods of 50 and 49 years. Besides, the then government went on and identified state lands to lease under the controversial CFO. Investment Policy for Corporate Agriculture was also prepared by the federal ministry of investment, which offered incentives to those investing in the CAF in Pakistan. In the policy, the investors have been allowed 100 percent foreign equity, and the agricultural machinery technology to be used for CAF was expected from custom duty and sales tax on import.
Prof Ismail Kumbhar of Sindh Agriculture University of Tandojam said, "The unsustainable practices in agriculture have also horrible effects on the ecology, such as agro-fuel or sugarcane mono-cropping which may destroy ecological balance."
Engr Abdul Razzaque Umrani of HANDS, Waheed Jamali Executive Director of SEARCH also spoke on the occasion.
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