Agriculture sector: Sindh government urged to announce Rs 100 billion bailout package

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) has demanded the Sindh government to announce bailout package of Rs100 billion for agriculture sector because it is also facing the same financial crisis as PIA and Steel Mills. The SCA at Hyderabad Club on Sunday organised a convention where a number of resolutions were unanimously adopted in this regard.
President SCA, Dr Nadeem Qamar said that agriculture sector employed up to 30 million people in Sindh but it was facing severe crisis in terms of increasing cost inputs and decline in support price of crops. He said that it was responsibility of the Sindh government after the 18th amendment to fix support price for major corps including wheat, rice, cotton and sugarcane.
"The support prices of these crops should be fixed before sowing in the province as the growers and peasants can get maximum benefits from it," he added.
He said that subsidy should be provided to growers on purchasing of tractors, solar tube wells and laser levellers for next three years where 80 percent of total cost should be provided by government while 20 per cent should be recovered from growers.
Qamar also demanded the Sindh government to make Sindh Seed Corporation (SSC) functional for producing new seeds for growers and also illegal encroachment on land of 10000 acres of the SSC should be vacated for this purpose.
Speaking on this occasion, General Secretary SCA, Nabi Bux Sathio said that sub-standard pesticide was being sold in the market and the government should take an action to ban the sale of substandard pesticide.
Besides, the committee should be formed to monitor and control sale of substandard pesticide in the province, he said. "Special subsidy should be announced for small growers holding land of 25 acres and in addition to this, the subsidy of Rs20 should be provided on the purchase of one litre of diesel," he urged.
Sathio said that the committee should be formed to monitor the utilisation of funding being provided by international organisations in form of grant and loan to the Sindh government.
Such monitoring would make the utilisation of funds the most efficient and effective, he said.
He also demanded the Sindh government to set up wheat procurement cell where the growers and peasant can sell wheat at support price announced by government.
More than 50 per cent of wheat has been harvested in especially lower Sindh but growers are forced to sell at Rs1000 per maund because there is not wheat procurement cell set up by the Sindh government so far, he added.
Another representative of the SCA, Zahid Bhurgari said that the price of urea bag should be fixed at Rs800 because its price had been increased to Rs1600 per bag which was not justifiable and also increased inputs cost of agriculture sector.
He also appealed to PASSCO to set up wheat procurement cell in Sindh province as it did in Punjab province to procure wheat.
"The federal government should also announce financial assistance Rs5000 per acre on corps of rice and cotton for Sindh growers," he said while appealing the federal government.