Growers warn of food insecurity

KARACHI: Sindh growers have warned that with an increase in the cost of production the country was moving towards food insecurity.

To avoid that, they have approached experts from Netherlands to help them out in value-addition of agriculture products, officials told The News. In this regard, a meeting was held between senior experts from Netherlands and Sindh Chamber of Agriculture at the chamber’s head office in Karachi.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture delegation included its chairman Kabool Muhammad Khatian, Nisar Khaskheli, and Nawab Asad Rauf Sherwani, while Tamseela Bano, a senior expert, represented the delegation from Netherlands.

Khatian said growers were facing problems in procuring hybrid seeds, while an increase in the prices of fertiliser, diesel and pesticides had increased their cost of production manifold.

Besides, growers were facing huge transportation expenses to move DAP - an imported fertiliser – to their fields. Again, to sell the produce in the market, the growers had to pay for transport. “Our transport cost is in addition to our produce,” he said.