The government of Sindh has announced the distribution of 21,2864 acres (136784 barrage, 45358 katcha, 307, 57 Barani) land among landless haris (farmers), preferably amongst the women workers in almost all the districts of Sindh, under a land grant policy.

In the first phase, the scheme covers 160 union councils and those districts where state land is available for free distribution. The government has also lifted a ban on the grant of state land amongst haris in accordance with land grant policies.

The prime target of this scheme is to reach out the poorest of the poor and the most marginalised people, with the central objective to reduce poverty, access for the landless to basic livelihood sources, and ultimately to ensure food security.

The government has declared the following objectives as the theme of the project institutionalisation of land reforms sector in Sindh; a clear focus on women's empowerment ; targeting the poorest of the poor landless haris; and an integrated support system for a sustainable livelihood.

Under the current proposed policy, besides allotment of land, some incentives like micro credit facilities, skill training, seed, pesticides, land leveling and access to water will be provided to haris.

The Government has approved a formal engagement of Rural Support Programmes (RSPs) in Sindh, especially with TRDP, SRSO and NRSP. It has asked the network to use its poverty profiling score card to make the entire exercise, transparent and meritorious.

On the other hand, some rights based NGOs and civil society networks have established camps in different parts of the province and their volunteers are organising community meetings and advocacy campaigns to help the poor and illiterate haris to properly follow the criteria to fill the application form and submit it to the concerned authorities.

The triangle of government, RSPs and civil society is a unique effort to legitimise land reforms policy and especially the grant of land among landless haris.

Under the land distribution programme, over 13,300 families or over one hundred thousand persons are expected to benefit.

Funding for tube wells to groups of hari's having contiguous land above 100.00 acres is also in consideration.

There have been multiple attempts at land reforms. The first land reforms package in 1959 was called a 'cosmetic measure.'

The 1972 land redistribution reforms of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto were considered a better initiative and were better received by the public. In 1977, another reform package was announced but the government was over-thrown by the military.

In the first tenure of Benazir Bhutto, 35,000 acres of land were distributed among landless haris. During Mian Nawaz Sharif's second tenure another attempt was made at reforms in Sindh, however it was not very succesful.

Sindh is one of the poorest provinces of Pakistan. Rural Sindh's economy is based on agriculture and it tends to be characterised by highly unequal land distribution and a huge rural-urban gap in development.

Important factors for the high level of rural poverty are the unequal distribution of land and other productive assets, the prevalence of an ancient sharecropping system in agriculture, lack of access to services and zero level of compliance with legislative bindings.

Unscheduled rainfall, unstable prices of agricultural goods, lack of employment opportunities, non-availability of agro-based small industries, and faulty drainage systems are major threats to the agricultural economy.