The Sindh Secretary of Agriculture Syed Aijaz Ali Shah has said the government has fixed the buying price of sugarcane crop at Rs 425 per 40 kilograms. Chairing a meeting at Shahbaz Building here on Tusday, attended by the representatives of Sindh Abadgar Board and Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, said the purpose of the meeting was also to listen to complaints of the farmers.
The Secretary apprised the meeting that he had written to the Sindh Chief Secretary to approve the Provincial Advisory Board, adding that he would soon seek approval for constituting the district advisory boards which would hold monthly meetings to discuss agriculture-related issues. He commented that fixing the rate of fertilizer was under the purview of the federal government. Shah believed that the fertilizer demand had been artificially increased to show a shortage of supply.
The Secretary assured the farmers that the government would take action and penalize the hoarders of urea. He emphasized the need to sensitize the farmers across the province to use the certified seeds only. He said efforts would be taken to convene the meeting of the Provincial Seed Council. Shah also underlined the need to hold meetings to know the issues affecting the vegetable markets in the province and to seek solutions for the same problems.
The Secretary directed the Cane Commissioner Sindh to ensure that the mills paid dues of sugarcane purchases to the farmers within 15 days. He also asked him to hold fortnightly meetings with the farmers representatives to sort out their issues. The farmers at the meeting complained about the water shortage for irrigation saying it was becoming serious with each passing day.
They said that the absence of a fully functional laboratory which could be tasked to detect and treat viruses was affecting the crops. The farmers also complained against the dealers of fertilizer for hoarding and overcharging, seeking government action against them. The farmers representatives including Zahid Hussain Bhurgari, Nabi Bux Sathio, Mahmood Nawaz Shah, Zulfiqar Yousfani.
