Sindh government on Wednesday announced that Passco would purchase one million tons rain-affected rice from growers and use it as animal feed. The provincial government also announced to waive the recovery of land revenue and "Abiana" from the calamity-hit growers, who had 70 percent of their standing paddy crop destroyed by the torrential rains this season.
Addressing mediapersons at Chief Minister House, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said his government would establish 200 centers in upper and lower Sindh to purchase the rain-affected rice.
"By compensating their losses we want to restore the growers confidence in the government," said the CM who was flanked by Information Minister Shazia Marri and Minister for Agriculture Syed Ali Nawaz Shah, besides officials from Passco and Sindh government.
He said the provincial government would buy per maund paddy, Irri-6 and broken rice from growers at Rs 700, Rs 1200 and Rs 1000, respectively by April 30, 2009. Growers, the CM said would bring their produce at the nearest centre and get payments through cheques. The chief minister said the decision and procedure to lift the damaged crop was finalised in a meeting with the Passco chairman on Tuesday.
Qaim said that during the current season Sindh government had targeted 2.5 million tons rice production, but in the aftermath of recent devastating rains, that had left 70 percent of the crop damaged, the government would hardly be able to procure one million tons rice. EDOs, DDOs, DCOs and other officials from the concerned departments would supervise the purchasing process at the government centers, he added.
To a query, Qaim said the perished rice would be used as animal feed and would not be sold in the local or international market. According to sources this season Sindh province was to contribute 40 percent or 2.5 million tons rice in the countrys total 6.3 million tons production target for 2008-09.
But, the natural disaster had damaged the provinces paddy crop almost completely. Besides, it also put the countrys ability to achieve the $1.4 billion export target in question, they added. The sources said local demand for this essential kitchen item stood at 30 percent, whereas the remaining large portion was being exported to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, etc.