Lack of water, rain to cut rice yield in Sindh

HYDERABAD: Rice producers in Sindh are haunted by uncertainty this year, as persistent water scarcity in the irrigation system, absent rainfall and cloudy weather continue to hinder the food crop’s natural growth.

Badin district is known for cultivating all seasonal crops ahead of other areas. However, this year, farmers said they were unable to transplant rice seedlings because of water shortage. This might impact the per acre yield, they added.

Abu Talib, a farmer in Badin’s Seerani area, said he has spared 50 acres of land for rice cultivation. The overall cost of cultivating rice ranges from Rs40,000 to Rs45,000 per acre, including tractor and chemical input, fertiliser and pesticides.

Previously, diammonium phosphate was available at Rs3,400/ bag, which was now Rs6,500/bag, he said. On top of that, “farmers get hybrid seed varieties, which require higher chemical input to save the crop”.

“Though we received water late in August, the crop is not growing at its natural pace due to cloudy weather. Rice crop requires heat at its early stage to grow and give productivity,” he said.

Sajad Morio, who works for food and pesticides dealers in the famous rice zone Golarchi area of Badin district, said many farmers still seem reluctant to transplant rice seedlings because of uncertainty surrounding water availability.

Recently, the government announced that it would introduce a rotation system in the watercourses for a few months, which might affect the crops, they said, while reminding that the unfavourable weather conditions could also disrupt the cultivation process.

The proper season for preparing rice nurseries to develop seedlings starts at the end of April and May in advanced areas like Thatta, Sujawal, Badin and Umerkot districts.

But due to water scarcity this year, a large number of farmers were either reluctant to take the risk of cultivation or transplanted late in July and August. Many farmers were still waiting to start transplanting.

In case of late transplantation in September, farmers might not get average yield. After transplantation, the rice crop requires 100—110 days from ripening to harvest.

In the current situation, yield in Badin rice zone might drop by more than 50 percent.

Farmers usually get 70-80 maund per acre average yield, which might go down to 35-40 maund in Badin. In some cases, farmers receive 100 maund or more per acre if they receive proper water, required heat and care to avoid fungus attacks on the crop.

Earlier, the Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) set production targets to receive 8.2 million tonnes of rice from over 3.07 million hectares throughout Pakistan. However, farmers in Sindh were sceptical about the target.

Reports from the right bank of the River Indus rice zone like Dadu, Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot, show that farmers failed to cultivate rice on more than 15-20 percent of their lands because of water scarcity.

These areas receive water from the Rice, Dadu and Saifullah canals.

Bachal Sodhar, a farmer from Mehar of Dadu district said farmers could not save their seedlings because of persistent water scarcity and extreme heat. Only smaller pieces of land were visibly covered with rice transplantation in some areas, “but uncertainty prevails and farmers look afraid about saving crops and getting proper yield”.

Earlier this year, looking at the possibility of water availability in the irrigation system, the provincial government had declared a ban on rice cultivation on the left bank of the Indus.

However, authorities failed to monitor the situation and many farmers cultivated rice in parts of Sukkur, Khairpur, Nawabshah, Sanghar and Hyderabad districts, all on the left bank of the river. Now in some areas farmers were preparing to harvest the crop as they had cultivated rice earlier and the crop received heat to help its growth and maturity.

The situation can be gauged from the fact that Kandiaro in Naushehro Feroz districts, that were not known as rice producing areas now had a new rice mill. It was established because the area now has access to raw rice, which keeps the wheel of the mill running.

Those farmers, who have cultivated the crop earlier and started harvesting, are facing price issues in the market.

According to farmers, fresh products are mostly moisture grains, which do not attract buyers as they need proper dried rice. Thus, the prices range from Rs600 to Rs1,200/maund, depending on variety and quality.

The provincial government has yet to consider the value of rice to announce a support price. Meanwhile, farmers continue to face low rates, which sometimes do not even recover the cost of cultivation.

Farmers fear that in if rice transplantation was delayed up to September, the crop would not receive enough sun for maturity. When harvested in November or December, during cold weather, “the yield would be low”.