THE decision by the Sindh government to provide Rs55 billion in direct cash assis-tance for diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea under the Wheat Growers Support Programme will undoubtedly provide temporary relief to small farmers. However, it also raises a fundamental policy question: why does Sindh repeatedly resort to subsidy programmes while long-promised agro-industrial projects remain abandoned?

In 2004, the government had announced the establishment of Agricultural Export Processing Zones (AEPZs) in Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad, Sakrand, Naushahro Feroze and Ghotki. These zones were designed to provide collection, grading, processing, packing and cold storage facilities to promote agricultural exports and increase farmers’ incomes. More than two decades later, the Naushahro Feroze AEPZ lies abandoned, while the fate of the remaining proposed zones remains largely unknown.

In 2020, another initiative — the Naushahro Feroze Agro Food Industrial Park under the Special Economic Zones framework — was announced to promote agro-based industrialisation. Yet, little public information is available regarding its implementation or its current status.

More recently, the Sindh Water and Agriculture Transformation (SWAT) project, supported by the World Bank, introduced several reforms that are aimed at improving agricultural productivity and value chains. While these objectives are commendable, long-term agricultural transformation cannot depend primarily on recurring cash transfers. Sustainable growth requires investment in processing facilities, cold chains, research, marketing infrastructure, value addition and agro-based industries.

Rather than introducing a new support package every few years, the government should first explain what became of the projects announced in 2004 and 2020. Reviving and completing these initiatives would create permanent employment, strengthen exports, and provide farmers with sustainable income opportunities instead of their seasonal dependence on subsidies. Farmers in Sindh deserve lasting initiatives, not merely temporary relief.

Dr Abdul Qadeer Memon
Naushahro Feroze

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2026