UMERKOT: Nature has blessed the arid area of Umerkot like other parts of Thar with pre-monsoon rains.

The showers brought relief to the growers, who have started cultivating crops, and brought those back to their abodes who had migrated with their families, owing to lack of water.

According to writer Mir Hassan Arisar, the arid area of Sindh is 68 per cent of the total area. The total area of Umerkot is 5,608 square kilometers, out of which 54 per cent is arid, where life is as hard as in the arid areas of Tharparkar and Sanghar districts.

‘Agriculture department least interested in educating farmers’

As underground water is brackish and contaminated, the residents of the city heavily depend on rainwater to cultivate their crops.

The region faces continuous drought which leads to frequent famines. Resultantly, people migrate to areas fed by barrages in search for food, fodder and water for humans and livestock.

According to Anwar Samejo, resident of Ramsar, “There is no monitoring of the quality and price of seeds. When they harvested guar, it was sold at Rs1,000 per maund, now it is being sold by profiteers at Rs2,000 to Rs3,000 per maund.”

He further said, “The cattle returning to Thar from the barrage areas will bring diseases with them as there is no mechanism to vaccinate them.”

Samejo added that snake bit cases rose in summers as the reptile came out of their burrows in hot weather and could be seen roaming freely in fields. They attacked adults and children alike working on their lands and feeding their livestock. Unfortunately, there was no proper health facility in the entire region of Thar to deal with such cases of snake bite.

Mumtaz Halepota of the Maroohar village said they used camels and donkeys to cultivate crops but then decided to hire tractors as the animals took more time and needed care, fodder and water.

“Cultivation by tractors is harmful for the soil but we have no choice,” he added.

Khenraj Bheel, who was on his way to the Lalabah village from the 20 number watercourse, said, “I had migrated in search for food, fodder and water for my family and livestock, but in the barrage area there was no water this year, therefore, no grass and labour were there.

“I, therefore, had to sell three calves. Two of my cows out of 15 died of diseases. I had to travel for 60 kilometres from my village, when there was shortage of food, fodder and water.”

He added that continuous droughts had killed his livestock and he had started reducing their number but he had no other source of income.

“We are illiterate and poor, therefore, there is no job for us. We have been living miserable life. I will obtain loan from a landlord, cultivate the crop and then leave it on the mercy of God,” he further said.

An official in the agriculture department on the condition of anonymity told Dawn it was the responsibility of his department to educate growers, introduce new seed varieties and technologies.

He went on to say that on the one hand people did not visit them for help and guideline and on the other hand, his department had no interest in educating them.

The official added that migration could be minimised if fodder and drinking water was ensured in Thari villages. He agreed that no awareness programmes, conferences or seminars had ever been started in Thari villages by the department.

Attaullah Pathan, the director of the Arid Zone Research Institute Umerkot, said no research work ever took place to introduce new varieties of seeds for Thar.

“I on my own have got 48 verities of guar developed, out of which three are the best. Unfortunately, the department concerned is not ready to educate Thari growers about new inventions,” he maintained.

Ali Akbar Rahimoo, a development expert, said Thar was already a food insecure region. The pre-monsoon rains have encouraged farmers to start cultivating rain-fed crops.

“If it does not rain thrice with the interval of twenty days, all expenses of the poor farmers will go in vain.

“Sorrowfully, no department educates arid growers about cultivation time, seed varieties, insecticides, fertilizers etc. Even the crops of Thar are not included in the Sindh Seed Bank.

“The farmers lack knowledge. They will sow the same seeds in September which they are growing now in June. Even the politicians look at Thar only to get votes, nothing else.

“Previously SAZDA used to spray seeds of grasses during rains but now no such institute exists, therefore day by day various grasses, plants are becoming extinct,” Rahimoo said.

Asad Halepoto, a Thari political worker, said: “There is no mechanism for rangeland management and agro-forestry at provincial or district level. Overgrazing is a common practice and desertification is on the rise. When the area receives rain, livestock from other areas rush here and root-out chocolate grasses. Vegetation cover is being declined day by day.

“The department concerned can offer incentives to farmers that those who plant trees and protect them will be provided wheat etc. Desertification and climate change can be addressed this way.”

He added that the rainwater, which was not clean and pure, was consumed by animals and people together which led to waterborne diseases, therefore water management was also needed.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2018