Pakistan: Sindh’s farm crisis deepens as deregulation leaves growers at dependence of middlemen

Sindh [Pakistan], September 7 (ANI): The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) has criticised the provincial government’s agriculture deregulation policy, arguing that weak market oversight has empowered financially stronger middlemen to purchase crops from farmers at low rates and sell them to consumers at substantially higher prices, reported The Express Tribune.

Speaking at a meeting in Hyderabad chaired by SAB President Mahmood Nawaz Shah, representatives of the farming community said the policy had failed to create genuinely competitive agricultural markets. Instead, they claimed, it had created greater opportunities for what they described as “cash-rich and exploitative” intermediaries to profit at the expense of growers. The farmers estimated that growers had incurred losses running into tens of billions of rupees over the past two years because of what they termed unchecked exploitation by middlemen, according to The Express Tribune.

The board pointed out that food inflation had climbed to around 29 per cent during the period, while the prices received by farmers for several crops had either fallen or remained largely unchanged. Agriculturists warned the widening gap between production costs and farm-gate prices was making agriculture increasingly unattractive for growers.

Farmers said prices of fertilisers, pesticides, seeds, fuel and other agricultural inputs had continued to rise, while returns from crops remained stagnant. They warned that sustained losses over successive seasons could discourage investment and threaten the long-term viability of farming.

The SAB further claimed that government subsidies on selected agricultural inputs were benefiting only about 15 per cent of small farmers, leaving most growers to cope with escalating production expenses without adequate support. “The existing government policy of not letting crop prices increase isn't tenable,” the board said, as cited by The Express Tribune.

The farmers also questioned the timing and implementation of deregulation, arguing that removing price controls without establishing competitive markets could worsen the situation. They maintained that restrictions on agricultural exports further weakened farmers’ bargaining power. In their view, the current system could leave growers compelled to sell cheaply while consumers continue paying high retail prices. (ANI)

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