HYDERABAD: Punhal Palari's migrant herder family has harvested six acres of wheat and collected around 15 maund grain for the children through their collective labour.
Punhal is now looking for more fields to reap the golden crop for scoring grain stocks against his work. The whole family, including his wife and two younger sons, works together for the harvesting.
Originally, he comes from the drought-stricken arid-zone Kohistan, Jamshoro district. Now, they live in union council Hatri in the suburbs of Hyderabad city.
They have been following this age-old sharecropping method for generations. Under this method, the cost of the wheat harvesting is received in the shape of grain, depending on the rate and situation of the particular area. Punhal, who receives 2.5 maund per acre after harvesting, said other areas had better returns. “In some areas workers can get three-four maund per acre for similar work,” he added.
Hundreds of families, who migrated from the drought-hit Kohistan, harvest wheat and collect enough grain stock to feed families. This helps them avoid any food crisis during the time they stay away from their homeland.
Sachal Palari, another member of a migrant family living within the same cluster, said, “We travel long distance – three to four kilometres - to harvest wheat in the forest areas.”
They move with women and children on a daily basis to work together from dawn to dusk for earning a little for their families survival.
“We cannot decide or bargain over the wages of this kind of work. It depends on landlords to fix labour wages and give us after thresher,” Sachal said.
Wheat harvesting goes on for a month, starting from early March till the first week of April. All workers usually collect enough stock through their work to feed their children for the whole the year.
About their livestock, Sachal said they travel with their herds, which are tended by younger children near vacant fields.
He told that their grandparents had seen better days. They harvested the golden crop too, but on their own land, which has turned barren. Now, he said they were lucky to even feed their children after the painstaking labour.
Some of these families have a history of migrating from their rain-dependent mountainous areas for 20 years. Whenever the families feel difficulties in life and livelihoods due to delay in rainfall, they take their animals and migrate to barrage areas for animal rearing and labour.
They spend six-eight months away from their native villages and return whenever they receive news of pouring rains during monsoon. These herder families have pieces of land in their villages that they cultivate during monsoon rains. But for many years, they have been experiencing low rainfall, resulting in dryness and drought-like conditions in Kohistan.
Each family has a different story. Some of them migrate to union council Hatri, Hyderabad district that once had forest villages with thick tree cover and rich economy. These herder families live under makeshift abodes along roadsides and barren lands with animals. Women and children also work to ease difficulties.
During the wheat harvest season, each family member collects grains for the year. Otherwise, they sell milk in the local market for survival. On rare occasions, like when they are faced with expenses for some illness, they sell their animals to bear the cost. Reports gathered from different areas show that only lower parts of the province, which leads in the cultivation of all the crops, have started wheat harvest. But upper parts of the province are yet to start harvest.
Badin, Thatta, Sujawal and parts of other districts being located at tail-end areas did not receive irrigation water to produce wheat this year.
Qabool Muhammad Khatian, president, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA), was optimistic for a bumper crop in all districts of the province, except Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, and parts of Mirpurkhas and Tando Muhammad Khan districts.
These areas did not receive timely water to produce wheat.
He said pleasant weather during the season has also benefited the wheat crop, and farmers were receiving 40-45 maund per acre average as compared to 30 maund per acre they used to receive during the previous years. “It is good sign because of weather phenomenon,” he added.
About the procurement process, he said the provincial government has yet not declared any procurement centres in the entire province to receive wheat. “Farmers are demanding to start the process of procurement, so they can sell their products on time,” he informed.
Qabool said the provincial government does not have a clear policy to promote agriculture sector, which benefits the people associated with farming. “The rate of Rs1,300 per maund was fixed by the government 10 years back, which still continues. Farmers are compelled to sell their product at this rate,” he lamented, urging the government to announce at least Rs200 raise in wheat prices, so the famers could recover the input cost.
He said that the government wanted to sell wheat at low rates to urban areas, mainly Karachi. “In this situation, only producers will suffer due to the low prices they receive for their valuable food product,” he added.
Reports from Dadu district show that farmers were preparing to harvest wheat. Some influential farmers preferred to hire combined harvesters and bear the machinery cost. Combined harvesters get Rs1,400 per acre of wheat harvest.
Grower leaders, keeping an eye over the situation, fear that water scarcity might create problems for agriculture and farmers in the current year, as water scarcity also meant that the farmers could not produce grass fodder. In the absence of grass fodder, people relied on wheat straw, which was also in low supply, increasing problems for herders. Currently, livestock farmers were forced to pay high prices for wheat straw in tail-end areas.
