A close to 40% drop in the purchase price of the rice crop has unsettled the farmers, sparking reactions and protests from the agrarian community. The Sindh Abadgar Board, a group which campaigns for farmers’ rights, on Sunday held the Sindh government’s anti growers policies responsible for their alleged exploitation at the hands of the traders from the open market.
Meanwhile, farmers in Badin district held a demonstration to express their anger over the low paddy price. A meeting of the SAB, presided by Mahmood Nawaz Shah in Hyderabad, complained that price manipulation to utter detriment of the growers is going unchecked in Sindh.
According to the SAB, the paddy price has been artificially brought down from Rs3,500 per 40 kilograms to Rs2,200 per 40 kg. “On the other hand, the cost of production continues to increase and on top of that, there is no official policy to ensure transparency and fairness in paddy purchases from the growers.”
Shah deplored that the ‘flimsy excuses’ of moisture and quality are being cited to exploit the farmers by paying them a price which does not even meet their cost of production. He pointed out that on one hand climate change entailed problems and uncontrolled inflation in the input costs are hurting the agricultural economy and on the other hand the farmers are being denied right prices for their crops.
He recalled that rice is not only the largest Kharif crop, it also happens to be on the highly exported crops as well. “The government needs to create a business environment where commodity prices also rise commensurate with the rise in input prices and climate-related losses,” he emphasized.
The board called for allowing unrestrained exports of agricultural produce if it wanted to deregulate the crops prices. Dr Zulfiqar Yousfani, Syed Nadeem Shah, Dr Bashir Nizamani, Irfan Jatoi, Imran Bozdar, Malook Nizamani and Mohammed Aslam Mari, among others, attended the meeting.
Separately, a large number of farmers held demonstrations in Badin and Thatta districts on Sunday, blaming the rice mills, middlemen and the provincial government for their exploitation. The protesters in Badin warned of blocking Thar coal road and of laying siege to the rice mills if they are not paid the right price for their produce.
