HYDERABAD, Jan 29: Pakistan Agriculture Supply and Storage Corporation (Passco) is responsible for 70 per cent damage to paddy crop during winter rains because it fixed the procurement target at 500,000 tons but lifted only 20,000, complained Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) and the Sindh Balochistan Rice Millers Association (SBRMA).

President SAB Abdul Majeed Nizamani and his counterpart at SBRMA Arif Mahesar in a joint press conference said that they informed the government in November of bumper paddy crops Sindh and Balochistan had achieved and further asked it to direct Passco to procure it on time.

The government held a meeting on Nov 10 wherein it was decided that Passco would establish procurement centres for paddy at the rate of Rs700 per 40kg, said Mr Nizamani. He disclosed of the apprehensions these two organisations had expressed which later proved correct while Pascco kept delaying establishing centres on one or the other pretext resulting in washing away of billions in paddy. Passco’s indifferent attitude remains the same as it failed to lift the targeted paddy even after the passage of more than a month, he flayed.

The two leaders urged the government to entrust Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) for procuring paddy where Passco fails and warned it to remain alert of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap) – a private organisation – which was opposing the involvement of TCP to keep its monopoly on rice export. They asked the government to break this approach as a monopoly of any organisation could harm the agriculture sector.

Mr Mahesar to a query replied that there still were available some 2.5 million tons of coarse rice for export. Regarding the double policy of Passco, he said that it established some 260 centres in Punjab and achieved the target of 500,000 tons, while in Sindh it established 50 outlets and purchased only 20,000 tons.

He complained of the staff shortage with many centres totally devoid of any and termed the whole exercise a cruel joke as Passco had never been serious in making procurement from Sindh and Balochistan. Even TCP seemed to be playing truant for it floated tenders for only 35,000 instead of 200,000 tons of coarse rice, he said.

Regarding rice seed supply, SAB president replied that though the federal agriculture minister had promised but we are keeping the fingers crossed as to whether it see the light of the day.