Daily Times

Current wheat and mustard crops are expected to be damaged due to heavy rains and the growers are likely to suffer huge losses in Larkana & Sukkur Divisions.

At the very outset, they faced acute irrigation water shortage and now rains during spring season- sometimes, whole day or whole night along- will badly affect the production of wheat and mustard crops in Sindh.

The first rain brought relief and fulfilled the water scarcity for the tillers but thereafter 5-time rains last month will bring losses to the poor peasants who are extremely worried these days.

In this connection leader of Sindh Abadgar Board Gada Hussain Mahesar and Mir Ishaque Mugheri told newsmen that at the very outset growers were facing water shortage but now after constant rains their standing wheat & mustard crops have been damaged. They said that so far 20% of these standing crops have been damaged due to rains. They said head of wheat grain is falling down when heavy rain occur and it becomes useless as its grains burn. They said if rain continued then damage will increase.

Traders and millers are also likely to undergo huge losses

On the other hand, due to rains, paddy lying at the rice mills has also been damaged due to which rice traders & millers have suffered losses of millions of rupees.

Rice traders and millers in Sindh & Balochistan had procured paddy in large amount when the harvesting season commenced.

They kept paddy in the rice mills under open sky which the rains since last month have been damaging.

Qamardin Gopang, Central President Sindh-Balochistan Rice Millers Association, said that 60% of the paddy kept in various rice mills at open space is going to be damaged.

He said, the businessmen had procured wet paddy due to which it is kept under open sky to become dry to get rice. But after rains, it will also become useless due to which traders and millers are also likely to undergo huge losses.

Meanwhile, more rains have been forecasted here during next 24 hours which will add to the miseries of the peasants.

Published in Daily Times, March 13^th 2019.