Daily Times

LARKANA: A bumper wheat crop of around 1.5 million acres has been harvested by Larkana and the coastal region of Indus River. The crop has started to reach markets but the traders are looting the growers as wheat procurement centres are still dysfunctional. The government fixed the subsidy rate at Rs1300 per 40 kg but the farmers are being offered the rate in between Rs1115 and Rs1130.

Strict regulations are enforced for wheat bags as the growers need to submit copy of their land records (Form-VII) and other documents as an identity. The Food Department of Sindh has set a target of 2.3 million bags for the upper Sindh which includes 550,000 bags from Larkana district, 320,000 from Kambar-Shahdadkot district, 300,000 bags from Shikarpur district, 230,000 bags from Jacobabad and 900,000 bags from Kandhkot.

Moreover, 97 procurement centres would be established in the entire district. Wheat production is expected to be 1.4 million metric tonnes in the upper Sindh and each tonne contains 10 bags. The Food Department is set to procure 23000 tonnes from a total of 1.4 million tonnes of wheat. The rest would be sold in the open market.

Sindh Abadgar Board Gada Hussain Mahesar termed the government policies against the poor farmers saying that they would have to sell the wheat at low prices in the open market.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture leader and a landlord Syed Siraj Rashdi said that mills would purchase wheat directly from landlords at Rs1250 that has adverse affects for peasants.

Furthermore, he said that procurement centres are not purchasing wheat which implies procurement centres are not opened as yet. “Growers and peasants remain at the mercy of the rulers,” he stated.

Published in Daily Times, April 11^th 2018.