THE 21-hour non-stop downpour of early December last has wreaked havoc on the tillers and owners of small land alike.

The entire area of upper Sindh, home to Irri-6 rice, received beating in the aftermath of rain severely. The downpour was extensive, not sparing even an inch of landmass from its incessant pounding. The affected rice crop has been rendered virtually unmarketable and in some cases unfit for human consumption.

The hours-long rain, which pierced through the stacked heaps of harvested paddy, had penetrated the cob of grain, leaving it germinating. It had damaged the paddy rendering it unfit for culinary purposes. When the threshed commodity was taken to the market, the millers were reluctant to purchase it. After hectic persuasions some of them agreed to buy the damaged paddy but at a price quoted as low as Rs300 per 40 kg. Last year the same quantity had fetched Rs700 quite comfortably.

The position has put the growers in a quandary. They are unable to size up the situation and extricate themselves from the vexing scenario. They are suffering losses beyond their comprehension and enduring capacity. The destruction, wrought by devastating wild-rain, has aggravated their sufferings and weakened their financial position, dragging them closer to poverty line. To escape the gnawing consequences of their failure to put food on the table for their off-springs, some of them may be driven to social crime or self-destruction. But the response of authorities to reduce their grievances and attenuate their sufferings seems to be lukewarm and enigmatic.

During maturing period of crop, the poor peasants were upbeat at the prospects of a bumper crop. But this season’s harvest is different. The unceasing rain pour has turned their glee into gloom

Encouraged by better returns last year, the growers were motivated to add more acres to paddy cultivation. They invested heavily on the purchase of super quality seeds like hybrid variety, paid extra buck as grab to state functionaries to buy fertiliser and purchased costly deterrents and pesticides to ensure rich and luxuriant growth of plants and plumping of the exogenous grain.

As though the costly investment was not sufficient to cajole the growers, they had to swallow another bitter pill. Thresher owners, shifting paddy from chaff, have also not logged behind in plucking pound of flesh from the growers. They have hiked charges in cash to Rs900 (cost of slightly damaged two maunds) as against normal rate in kind of 30kg for every ‘kharar’ (20 mnds) of paddy threshed.

Most of the growers follow traditional pattern to seek household and culinary items on credit from the shopkeepers of nearby towns around the year and repay the same when selling crop yield. It is doubtful if the sale proceeds of the rain-soaked paddy would fetch them enough to dust off the credit and also cover cultivation cost.

Unfortunately price of rice in international market witnessed downward trend, when crop was maturing. Pakistan could not remain unaffected from the dwindling drift, causing jitters among growers. The price of rice in the country slumped so low that it could hardly cover cultivation cost of the crop. The abject plight of the stakeholders compelled them to resort to road politics.

The government responded by opening procurement centres, asking Passco to lift paddy in collaboration with the millers and arrange payment to them at Rs700. They did open some centres, helped the influential and then disappeared in thin air. Meanwhile, ceaseless rain lashed upper Sindh in early December last, rendering economic condition of the growers from bad to worse.

The agriculture sector, being a village-based activity, is being run by an unorganised community. It is beyond its power and resources to manage assemblage of a sizable caboodle, to stage demonstrations, compelling authorities to buckle.

The hapless growers of upper Sindh, lacking backing of powerful political parties, are now merely hoping against the hope, that the latest commitment of the chief minister would still be honoured.

At the moment there is nothing on the ground that could console the growers. The present lot claims to be the party of the poor. However, their actions belie their claims. Statements issued at apex level in the past and exacted at a price of staging peaceful rallies and demonstrations throughout Sindh turned not a single hair of the government. Their pronouncements ended up in rhetoric to just appease the raging feelings of the growers. The recent announcement by the prime minister in Karachi to purchase rice up to one million tons by opening around 300 Passco procurement centres is yet to happen..

The growers are now taking leaders’ pronouncements with a pinch of salt. They term their statements as a mockery of their sufferings. If the government had matched their decisions with an appropriate action, they could have averted crises in large measure before the onslaught of recent rains. It would have saved growers from losses, besides protecting the commodity for export in large quantity.

Now the chief minister has jumped into fray. The government’s past promises not withstanding, the chief minister’s recent announcement on the floor of the house, followed by Provincial Assembly resolution may act as a balm to soothe the sufferings of the growers. They countenance his commitment as a glimmer of hope amid the gloom. The CM has assured that the provincial government would step in, if the federal government falters and drags its feet. His promise to purchase paddy at announced rate and waive land revenue are tests for governments to honour them in toto. But feelers are now being released, that the taxes will not be waived but deferred.

To avoid recurrence of mishaps like rains in future, a word of advice won’t be out of place to share. Development of a cap-like canopy, made up of a wee bit thicker polythene sheets, ranging between 25 to 50 feet in diameter and placed on the stacked heaps of paddy, would go a long way in insulating the crop of wheat or paddy during rainy seasons. The government could work on this proposal and if it finds it feasible, it could assign its fabrication to relevant quarters on massive scale and put up its sale through private outlets duly backed by advertisements in print and electronic media. Some sensible growers tried this solution, though belatedly, and partially succeeded in protecting the crop from severe damage.