Leaders of growers community unanimously lauded the watercourses lining project launched by President Musharraf to line 29000 watercourses in Sindh to minimise the water conveyance losses, but the community showed strong reservations about other disciplines of agriculture sector.
The growers, while leaving for Islamabad to attend the Farmers conference on "Water Conservation" scheduled to be held under the chairmanship of President Pervez Musharraf at Islamabad on Thursday, told Business Recorder that the lining project could play a vital role in saving the conveyance losses to the tune of 20 MAF during the first phase provided the project was manned by qualified persons on merit.
While elucidating their point, they said that in case appointments were made on political consideration to implement the project there are apprehensions that the whole project could prove a futile exercise.
President Sindh Abadgar Board said that poor availability of the water remains the major problem of the farming community.
The situation is further aggravated due to non-implementation of 1991 Water Accord in letter and spirit and growing mismanagement in regulating and distribution of water.
He said Pakistan is the only country that had imposed GST on agriculture inputs, fertiliser and pesticides that too on the recommendation of donor agencies which had made it difficult for the farmers to compete in international market due to high cost of production.
SAB president said it was for this reason that Pakistan has almost a non-existent share 0.22 percent in global trade and if Pakistan wants to stride in global competition it had to focus on agriculture and agro-based industries which could alone help sustain the competition during the WTO regime.
President Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, Syed Qamaruz Zaman Shah said when the government is not giving any subsidy to growers than why it is fixing price of agriculture commodities. They should left the prices to be governed by the market forces.
He also had reservation on the financial backup to growers at high mark-up rates and on default in payment the farmer is s subjected to humiliation by the officials of the loaning institutions but the agro-based industries which are defaulting payment of growers have not been penalised.
Qamaruz Zaman Shah said a strategy should be evolved under which if the agro-based industry defaults on the payment to growers, the growers bank loan should be transfer to the industry along with mark-up and rest is to be paid to growers. He said he was not aware whether these matters would be taken up in the conference are not or would be discuss on the side line of the conference but the Minfal should take note of all these problems.
Mir Ejaz ALi Khan Talpur said no doubt the water is a major problem of the farming community of Sindh but there are other problems that need to be resolve for the development of sustainable agriculture sector in the country.
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