HYDERABAD: Increasing cost of inputs, persistent water shortage in canals and low crop yields have forced traditional farmers (sharecroppers) in many areas of rural Sindh to leave their traditional occupation and find alternate sources of income in urban settlements.
Experts in agriculture sector, keeping an eye over the changing weather patterns, impacts of climate change on agriculture, and water sources, believe that this emerging trend indicates that sharecroppers have come under pressure because of the unbearable cost of cultivation.
For example, 30 years ago farmers had a pair of bulls and their own preserved seeds, which were natural assets, enough for getting half a share of crops after the harvest. But presently, besides bearing the entire cost of tractors, seeds, and other expenses, the peasants also have to contribute 50 percent cost of fertilisers and pesticides, which is equal to Rs7,000-Rs8,000 per acre for all crops.
Sometimes, the input cost exceeds against proceeds, which the poor sharecroppers cannot afford, and hence face hardships in running their daily lives.
Bashir Solangi of a farming family hailing from Rahmatullah Solangi village in Shaheed Benazirabad district, said, “the move to leave farming, our age old profession was not expected. All 50 families of the village left farming after being exploited and deprived of their rights by the local landlord.”
More than 150 males of the community have left the profession, some of them have bought Qingqi (motorcycle rickshaws), and others have donkey carts, while a few smart youth have initiated small businesses near the settlement for their survival.
In Solangi’s understanding, irrigation water shortage for cultivation as well as for drinking is the main problem for most people. He linked the changes to the devastating flood in 2011, which forced people to stay away for many months. They returned when the water receded and left only debris behind.
Not only did they have to rebuild their makeshift abodes, they also faced severe financial losses due to the impact on standing crops. The farmers stayed jobless for several months, and during this time, the landlords were unable to take care of them.
Only two families from the village have ownership of land that they cultivate, the rest are landless and work for daily wages or depend on small enterprises now. Bashir himself learned gardening and earns Rs500-Rs700/day for developing parks at government and private offices and residences. But it is an uncertain source of income.
A woman Gul Bakht of the same village, who used to work in the fields by picking cotton, chillies or harvesting wheat, now has no work.
The same story is narrated by the people of a famous village Colonel Morr. The scattered tribes and communities speak of leaving their traditional occupation.
Mir Hassan Mari, a rights activist in Sanghar district, said the issue of farmers disassociating themselves from agriculture is common in almost the whole of Sindh. He said the causes can be different, however the increasing cost of cultivation is one common reason.
“We have conducted a random survey, which showed that landlords possessing less than 500 acres are in trouble due to shortage of water, increasing input cost, and soil degradation; they are getting lower yields,” Mari said.
Landlords and haris are partners in the peasantry system and share both profits and losses, but now both are unable to gain profit from each other due to increasing input costs and falling yields. Since the sharecroppers are now deprived of their share, in some cases, landlords force them to get loans and gradually become bonded labourers, Mari added.
Researchers urge the government to formulate a comprehensive strategy to address the pressure sharecroppers are facing due to the rising cost of agricultural inputs.
They also raised the issue of corporate farming which might lead to food insecurity in the country. They claim that once all the farming work was taken over by machinery, the farmers would be forced to work as daily wagers earning minimum wage. Pointing to southern Punjab, where corporate farming was already in practice, they urge the government to secure the rights of sharecroppers under the industrial acts.
Shujauddin Qureshi from Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) said, “In the face of corporate farming, when a large number of the workforce is facing threats and being pushed into financial trouble, we demand the government to adopt universal social security system, where every worker is provided basic necessities like education, health, and shelter.”
He said every worker should be registered with the social protection institutions like provincial Social Security Institutions, Employees Old-age Benefit Institution, and Workers Welfare Board. This was the only way to provide a safety net to the sharecroppers, he said.
However, in the absence of collective bargaining power under the law, the agricultural workers are left vulnerable to exploitation, which leads to bonded labour.
Agriculture workers have no unions in rural areas and scattered reports of farmer suicides are coming in from the districts where the menace of bonded labour still exists.
