HYDERABAD: The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) has expressed concern over severe agricultural losses in Punjab and extended solidarity with the farmers affected by recent challenges, urging the government to take immediate rehabilitation measures in consultation with the farming community.
A meeting of the board was held at its Hyderabad office, presided over by Mahmood Nawaz Shah. During the meeting, members discussed the alarming situation in the paddy sector, the largest Kharif crop of Pakistan and one of the country’s major export commodities.
The SAB noted that the harvesting season had just begun and paddy prices had dropped sharply from Rs3,500 per 40 kilogrammes (kg) three years ago to Rs2,200 per 40kg at present, however, the production costs continued to rise, creating immense financial pressure on growers.
The growers’ representatives criticised the lack of government oversight in ensuring transparent and fair paddy procurement. They highlighted that buyers were making arbitrary deductions on the pretext of moisture and quality, without using proper moisture meters or standardised quality parameters.
The growers’s body further observed that the rural economy had been suffering for the past two years, with climate change and poor policy decisions compounding the crisis. While it appreciated the Sindh government’s provision of DAP and urea fertilizer as a relief measure, the SAB emphasised that such short-term interventions were insufficient to address the broader structural challenges facing the agricultural sector.
The board urged the government to foster a fair business environment where the commodity prices rose in proportion to the input costs and climate-related losses. It also called for an end to market restrictions and export barriers, stressing that the government’s inconsistent policies were damaging the agricultural economy.
The SAB said it was high time the government moved beyond rhetoric and took farmers and stakeholders into confidence to formulate a long-term and sustainable agricultural strategy. The meeting was attended by Dr Zulfiqar Yousfani, Syed Nadeem Shah, Dr Bashir Nizamani, Irfan Jatoi, Imran Bozdar, Malook Nizamani, Mohammed Aslam Mari, Taha Memon, Yar Mohammed Leghari, Arbab Ahsan, Abdul Jalil Nizamani, Murad Ali Shah and others.
