|
Main Page
|
 |
|
News Channel |
|
Sindh to face acute wheat shortage
MUHAMMAD QASEEM
HYDERABAD (April 26
2004): One does not have to be an expert to know
that Sindh will have to face acute shortage of
wheat even on completion of harvesting season as
this had been forewarned by all stakeholders,
including growers' associations.
The Sindh Abadgar Board, Sindh Chamber of
Agriculture and Small Farmers Association have
been agitating since October, 2003 against the
delayed commencement of sugarcane crushing which
shortened the cropping period for wheat having a
negative impact on wheat production.
It is well known that a sizeable wheat crop is
cultivated on lands vacated by harvesting of
sugarcane crop.
This time, sugar mill owners deliberately delayed
crushing by almost two months. The result was that
the fields which had to be vacated by sugarcane
and used for wheat sowing were not made available
for wheat sowing with the result that area under
wheat crop was drastically reduced.
It was observed that sugar millers did not pay
heed although this point was agitated repeatedly
but those in power could not prevail upon sugar
millers, rather played in the hands of the sugar
industry magnates.
The result can be seen now that at the peak of
wheat harvesting season there is acute shortage of
wheat in Sindh province. The economic acumen of
the policy makers can be judged by the fact that
they have not yet come up even with the estimated
production of the crop.
Sindh government is all-out to blame Punjab for
restricting the inter-division and
inter-provincial movement of wheat but is itself
guilty of the same offence by banning
inter-district movement of wheat. It is like
drowning man that the government is trying to
catch at a straw which would not help.
The immediate problem which needs first-hand
solution is that of wheat procurement to avert
overall wheat crises which will become
insurmountable not in too distant future but in
next couple of months as warned by the Sindh
Abadgar Board President Abdul Majeed Nizamani
several months back.
The government should gear up for wheat import due
to ill-conceived policy of the government.
Most of the wheat crop in lower Sindh had been
harvested and found its way to open market. To
achieve the wheat procurement target the
government can only buy wheat from upper Sindh
where wheat harvesting is continuing.
Federal Cabinet is meeting on Monday to review the
situation created by restriction on movement of
wheat by Punjab and Sindh and also the demand of
the growers that restriction should be removed
immediately.
Courtesy Business Recorder |
|
|
|
|
Pakissan.com; Advisory Point
|
|
