Farmers relish floodwaters to harvest winter crops

HYDERABAD: Peasants and farmers in Jamshoro district who must depend on seasonal rains are making the most of the extra water they received because of floods in the Indus River in the summer by cultivating the rabi crop. They are sowing lobia (black-eyed pea) and jowar (sorghum).
These growers usually depend on rains, floods in the Indus and waterways resulting from rains in the hilly areas. Growers in barani (non-irrigated) areas are solely dependent on spate irrigation for their livelihoods and for their livestock.
It is after four years since they received water flowing downhill in channels created by rains as well as the floodwater from the river. In 2011 they had received a lot of water during the torrential rains of that summer that caused devastating floods.
Imtiaz Abro of the Barani Growers Organisation (BGO) told The News that the weather pattern has changed and they rarely receive monsoon rains. Only water flowing down from the hills irrigate barani lands.
Belonging to Abra Village, which has about 450 families, the peasant activist says his family has 20 acres of land. Following two months of flooding before the river water receded, the peasants are preparing to sow the kharif crop of wheat, mullet and maize and a variety of pulses and vegetables. They plan to sow these crops from October 15 to December 15.
Due to the ups and down of the weather, Abro said they cannot keep their own seeds for three or four years. Hence, they usually buy seeds from market in the seasons when water is abundant. He said seeds available in the market are mostly adulterated, and peasants sometimes face problems in growing crops after these seeds have been sown. Abra’s peasants receive water from three natural watercourses feeding their area.
Growers who have sown the rabi crop, mainly lobia and jowar, expect to bring their produce to market in the middle of November. As well as being cooked, lobia is also used in pickles. Jowar is a popular grain crop and is mixed in grasses for livestock.
Farmers say lobia sells at Rs,2000 to Rs4,000 per mound in the local market, depending on the quality of the product and the market’s ups and downs. Lobia seeds are sold in the market at Rs100 per kg.
The data about non-irrigated lands shows that out of cultivable 22.2 million hectares in the four provinces of Pakistan, about a quarter rely on monsoon rains for winter crops.
In the barani areas of Sindh comprising Jamshoro, Thatta, Dadu and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts, have their own problems in terms of rainfall and water availability in rivers during the monsoons.
If the peasants receive more water from natural watercourses they usually plough the fields several times to conserve moisture and to improve soil fertility. If they receive water in August, they chose to cultivate lobia and jowar. Winter crops are sown between late October and mid-December.
Rabadino Nihalani, a grower of village Khamiso Nihalani, said he has cultivated lobias on ten acres of his piece of twenty acres. He expects to harvest 10-15 mounds. Lobia is a crop which does not need fertiliser.
Nihalani village receives water from four watercourses, which helped its inhabitants in cultivation and recharges their wells. There is no hand pump in many areas and the communities depend on wells for drinking water.
Peasant Maula Bakhsh Nihalani is worried, however. Since his 25 acres of land are still under floodwaters he may not be able to sow any crop in the forthcoming kharif season. Nihalani village has about 85 households belonging to the same clan. Rain-fed watercourses named Gundy, Khamisro, Bharni and Ghindoro river are close to the Nihalanis’ lands. Their forefathers used to maintain these watercourses and sow their crops by using a pair of bullocks. Now there are only tractors to be used, which is why they cannot bear the cost of cultivation.
Khalid Saifullah of Oxfam says researchers have been hired to find out how barani areas in Sindh can be brought under cultivation through alternative irrigation systems involving diversion of the watercourses for cultivation of crops.
According to him, spate irrigation can play a vital role in poverty alleviation in the poorer areas of Sindh. He said the government should allocate resources for maintenance of the spate irrigation system. This irrigation system will not only contribute to the ensuring of food security but also generate income for the communities in hilly areas, he added.
Leaders of the Barani Growers Organisation say that the government should take up this issue at the level of policy-making to ensure equal distribution of water, maintenance of watercourses through de-silting, and repairing of structures which were made during the British era.
They also said the government should announce support prices of their products and provide seeds and tools at subsidises rates.