Growers to desist from cultivating sugarcane crop: SCA warns

F.P. Report

HYDERABAD: The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) has warned that a large number of farmers- dismayed by the sugarcane price controversy- will not cultivate sugarcane crop in the next season.

A meeting of the SCA chaired by its General Secretary Zahid Bhurgari at the chamber’s office here Sunday also decried that despite 3-month delay in the cane buying the sugar mills were making unjustified deductions.

“Due to the tribulations and financial losses which have been suffered by the farmers this year and in the previous many years a large number of farmers don’t seem inclined to grow cane crop,” the meeting observed.

They complained that against the Sindh Sugar Factories Control Act, 1950, the sugarcane buying process started few days ago after 3 months procrastination on part of the sugar mills.

The meeting also highlighted problems in the cultivation of cotton crop due to sell of allegedly spurious seed, fertilizer and pesticides and the crop’s low price in the market.

The meeting condemned the registration of FIR under Anti Terrorism Act against farmers in Ghotki district where a sit-in protest on the highway continued for 4 to 5 days over sugarcane price controversy.

The office bearers and members of the SCA including Mir Abdul Karim Talpur, Mir Sikandar Talpur, Ghulam Mujtaba Unar, Syed Khadim Hussain Shah, Muhammad Khan Sarejo, Qazi Adeel and others attended the meeting.

The farmers representatives from Karachi, Sanghar, Sukkur and Ghotki districts attended the meeting through the video conference.