Hashim Abro
A nation cannot progress where farmers are destined to suffer. This article highlights the plight of our farmers and the challenges they face. Agricultural Census Data of 2024 indicates that Sindh has around 1.8 million farms. Despite their vital role in Pakistan’s agriculture and economy, farmers often confront a plethora of problems and challenges.
In Sindh, farmers face a severe plight due to extreme climate vulnerability, high input costs, poor infrastructure and market exploitation, which combine to create a cycle of poverty for the majority of the population dependent on rain-fed agriculture. Despite their crucial role in the national economy and food security, many farmers, especially smallholders, struggle to achieve a sustainable livelihood.
Sindh is most vulnerable to climate change, experiencing increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events like prolonged droughts, dry spells, sea erosion and floods. These events destroy crops, wash away fertile land and cause significant yield losses, which directly threaten food security and livelihoods.
Production costs of seeds, fertilizers, fuel, electricity and labour are increasing and squeezing profit margins. The cost of essential agricultural inputs like quality seeds, fertilizers and equipment is rising, making them unaffordable for many smallholder farmers. Without these inputs, farmers struggle to achieve a good harvest, which in turn leaves them with less money to invest in the next planting season, perpetuating a cycle of hardship.
Many farmers lack access to reliable markets and timely information on market prices. This often forces them to sell their produce to middlemen at very low prices immediately after harvest, leaving them with little profit and limited opportunities to build financial stability. Farmers often suffer losses when they overproduce a crop, tempted by high prices the previous year, leading to market gluts and price crashes.
In Sindh, women make up a substantial portion of the agricultural labour force, with some estimates indicating over 70% of agricultural labour is performed by women. Despite this significant contribution, their work is often underpaid, largely informal and they face numerous challenges regarding rights, recognition and working conditions.
Benefits from government subsidies often fail to reach the most vulnerable farmers. Farmers struggle to access timely and affordable institutional credit, often forcing them to borrow from local moneylenders at high interest rates, leading to cycles of debt. These compounding factors have resulted in a significant portion of the population facing acute food insecurity, with millions requiring humanitarian assistance, especially during the lean sea-sons.
Second, the relevant organizations should provide customized microfinance loans and technical knowledge on climate-smart farming to help farmers adapt and manage risks.
Thirdly, the federal and provincial government action to invest in modern market infrastructure, empower farmer cooperatives and ensure fair prices are ongoing.
Fourth, the government should provide grants to encourage farms to adopt high-tech, con-trolled-environment farming methods. Fifth, the focus should be on intensive, resource-efficient systems like vertical farming, hydroponics and aquaponics to maximize yield from minimal space. Sixth, the government should help farmers/ farms to explore collaborations with food processing companies and use platforms to add value to their produce and make local goods more accessible to consumers.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.
