HYDERABAD: A meeting of the Sindh Abadgar Ittehad was held at the Kamboh Agricultural Farm, Sheikh Bhurkiyo, hosted by Haji Khan Muhammad Kamboh and presided over by Nawab Zubair Ahmed Talpur. The meeting expressed grave concern over the low prices of vegetables, stating that farmers are incurring high production costs but are not being given fair prices.
The participants urged the government to take immediate notice of the issue. The meeting also demanded that the federal government reduce heavy additional taxes imposed on onion exports and give special attention to promoting onion exports to support farmers.
Strong concern was shown over sugar mills reducing the crushing of sugarcane, which, the participants said, is causing significant losses to growers. The meeting condemned the “deliberate closure” of the Mosla Abad branch in Kashmore district, stating that the branch has been manually blocked, resulting in the flooding and destruction of standing crops. It demanded that the artificial obstructions be removed immediately.
Participants also expressed regret over alleged corruption in the project to line 22 RDs of the Digh canal under the Alamani Regulator, questioning where the allocated funds had been spent and demanding accountability from the Irrigation Department. Serious concern was raised over the alleged sale of fake seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides in Sindh.
The meeting said that the lack of attention from both provincial and federal governments is causing heavy losses to farmers. The meeting further questioned the Sindh government’s claims regarding the establishment of cold storage facilities worth billions of rupees across the province, demanding their identification as no such facilities are visible on the ground.
Terming the closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as harmful to agriculture, the leaders said farmers have suffered huge financial losses due to the border closure and asked who would compensate them. Growers demanded the immediate reopening of the border to protect farmers from further losses.
The meeting strongly criticized the Sindh government for failing to conduct research on diseases affecting onions and bananas. The participants questioned the role of research institutions built at a cost of billions of rupees, stating that neither the diseases have been properly identified nor any effective work has been done to control them. They warned that if the situation persists, onion and banana cultivation may disappear from Sindh.
The Sindh Abadgar Ittehad demanded that all the highlighted issues be taken seriously, practical solutions be found, and the deliberate push of agriculture towards destruction be stopped immediately.
