The Sindh government has raised the estimate of sugarcane crop to over 12 million tonnes in the current fiscal year after the series of monsoon rains this year.
Officials in the Sindh Agriculture Department told Business Recorder on Wednesday that the provincial government had fixed a target of 11.234 million tonnes for the sugarcane crop in the current financial year, but after the positive results received by the department due to rains the current crop yield target has been increased to over 12 million tonnes.
The officials said that the paddy crop would also benefit from the heavy monsoon showers and it would also increase to substantial amount. Rice crops in Sindh are largely dependent on the availability of water in canals during sowing period and afterwards, the officials said and added the rice crop yield would cross 1.8 million tonnes as compared to 1.27 million tonnes estimated earlier.
Experts had forecast that the water shortage would reduce rice production and export would decline 15 percent during the current fiscal year. The water shortage of more than 45 percent in southern Sindh, which produces the bulk of Irri varieties, would hurt hopes for a good harvest this season, they were of the view.
The predictions proved frivolous after the rains and the rice growers are now confident that they would get good returns on their crops, the officials said.
Dates crops were prevented from devastation due to rains and the yield would be as per expectations.
The officials said that the monsoon showers had given relief to the growers but some crops require more water and in this regard the agriculture department had requested the irrigation department to increase water discharge from Guddu Barrage.
A project costing Rs 100 million was prepared this year for providing agricultural implements, including sprayers at 50 percent subsidy, to growers of the province to protect crops and increase productivity.
The sprayers enable growers to timely combat insect pests like mealy bug thus saving valuable crops, including cotton. They said that the rains provided the natural remedy to the growers and the pests have been eliminated to a large extent by the force of heavy downpour, which would save millions of rupees.
The officials said that the Sindh government had imposed emergency in several areas of the province after receiving reports of damages by caused by the rains. But fresh reports were different from those provided earlier.
The spell of monsoon rains had filled the ponds in the desert areas of Sindh giving a new life to plants and livestock. The water stored in ponds as the result of intermittent rains was enough for crop cultivation, particularly jowar, bajra and pulses in the desert areas, officials said.
The deluge damages vegetable crops like tomato but the current showers would help people to get sizeable production of different kind of vegetables, the officials said. They would also help in growing different plants, prominent herbal roots and different varieties of mushrooms.
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