Tomatoes, Its marketing, and Growers of Badin - Waseem Akram IR

 To be checked - Photos available 

Good work. some documents are there 

 

 Waseem Akram

Roll No: 2k18/MC/165

Category: Investigative Reporting

Topic:  Tomatoes, Its marketing, and Growers of Badin.

Tomatoes, It’s marketing, and Growers of Badin

 Agriculture commodities are the main source of food, which comes in front of us after a long process. Farmers are the major character of this process. As a human being, they have also some rights which are being violated by not getting appropriate price for their tomato Crop.

Nowadays these farmers are on the roads for their rights. These farmers are from Sindh province including district Badin.

Badin has an unprecedented status in tomato production which can not be denied. It is the Second highest tomato productive district of Sindh, after Thatta and it has a natural offseason for tomato cultivation. Here tomato is grown on 3.2 thousand hectares and it annually produces 60 thousand tons.

It has a market which considered among the largest markets of Tomato in Pakistan and a tomato research station that is devastated.

 

Devastated Tomato research station

 In Pakistan, tomato yield is 5.6 tons per acre which is low and stagnating as compare to 17 to 20 tons in Ireland and Korea. Research centers or extensions are the best choices to compete in terms of yield.

 District Badin has also a tomato research station which is located beside Pangrio city. It was a mega project of its time and it is the only research center for tomatoes in Pakistan. This research station is equipped with a Tractor, plowing machinery, and 860 agricultural lands. It was established in 1995, but now it is fully devastated. The staff is also appointed here which consists of two superintendents and 28 other employers which are ever absent and taking salaries from home.

A local journalist of Pangrio, on the condition of anonymity, claimed "The machinery is sold by employers while the land is under the illicit occupation and remaining is on the lease"

  Muhammad Ali a senior grower of Tando Bago said" If the station is restored, new seeds and varieties will be introduced and there will be no need to buy the expensive seeds from foreign companies"

 Problems in growing tomato

The growers in Badin have to face multiple problems in growing tomato crop despite having a suitable climate. It includes severe weather, fake seeds, and unreasonable prices in the market.

The tomato crop sowing begins in June and harvesting in December which runs up to February of next year in Badin. In early of this period monsoon rains also begin. In 2020 the whole district was severally affected, in result tomato crops were also drowned.

 A farmer told, " This time we had sowed tomato plants twice, once they were drowned".  He added "It  has increased the expenditure on the crop"

Fake seeds in the markets is also a thorn for the farmer. Sometimes substandard seeds do not produce so much yield as it could meet the investment on the crop.

If farmers are successful after all these tragedies then finally it is to get a suitable price for the crop if it is not so that farmer expects to get out of debt then it is an injustice to farmers.

According to data provided by Ali Nawaz Khoso, A grower from Badin, it costs   Rs. 10600  per acre in land preparation, Rs 17100 in seeding, fertilizer, and pesticides, Rs 25,700 in weedicide and fungicide, and Rs 48,900 in labor, irrigation, and transport. Collectively it costed Rs102,300 on one acre of tomato. Last year’s sum was Rs 69,400.

 Agriculture marketing system

 There are multiple defects in the agriculture marketing system which economically not so good for farmers and growers. Due to the lack of poor marketing infrastructure and post-harvest management, market stakeholder gets more profitability and grower has to compromise.

The small grower is not able to stay for a better price and cash starvation compels them to sell at throwaway prices, whether they sell to a middleman or market functionary.

According to a report of the Food and agriculture section, Planing commission Islamabad, named "Agriculture marketing infrastructure and Post Harvest Management" Post-harvest losses for Perishable crop is 20-40 percent while for nonperishable is 15-20 percent. It to be noticed that tomato is highly perishable.

The report revealed that a large quantity of produce is wasted and results in huge loss, which if save, could meet the demand.

The marketing system is diversified in Sindh. Both sectors; private and public are involved in marketing Agri commodities. Public sector enterprise freely in buying and selling of many Agri commodities. The private sector has a full command to determine the prices of vegetables, fruit milk, and eggs.

 Protests against the import of tomato

 In December when it has just begun tomato production in Sindh, the price started to decline owing to plenty of imports from Iran and a decrease in demand. Therefore, including Badin across Sindh growers took on streets against the import of tomatoes and onions in different cities.

A digital protest also launched on Twitter under the hashtag #stopImportTomatoAndOnion on 10th January. In 12 hours 160 tweets were posted.

  The experience of Previous years.

These protestants are mostly influenced by the experience of the year 2019-2020. Last year an area of 22,542 hectares was under the cultivation for tomatoes in Sindh which Produced 164,658 Metric tons.

 Unfortunately, in early November Pakistan imported tomatoes at a price of 150 per kg to control prices. According to the 19-year record of tomato imports in  Pakistan, 240 ton was imported in during the fiscal year 2019-2020.

The continuous import of tomatoes could not beat the price hike, but it severely affected the local farmers including Badin later.

Fayaz Shah Rashdi A grower and agriculture activist claimed " In 2018-2019 I have experienced the worst situation regarding this" He added I had sent 28 moned (1,120 kg) of tomato to Mirpurkhas market in return I had got only Rs.430 rupees".

 Provincial Government and tomato growers

After all, on 14 January a notice issued by the Sindh government to request the Federal government to impose a ban on the Import of tomatoes and initiating measures for the export of onions.

However, an expert in the agriculture sector has criticized the letter, referring to it as a poor way to represent the issue of farmers. He added on the condition of anonymity "Tomato was harvested through the year and land was not fixed for it"

He further added Sindh government is diverting the problem to the federal government.

 The growers objected that figures given in notice are lesser than existing, and it does not ascertain all those demands that were raised in the protests. Therefore the protest will continue till their demands were not filled.

 

 What do farmers demand?

 

In a Press release of Sindh Abadgar Tanzim and media reports, growers demanded the following point.

1- Stop the import of tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables which are available in plenty of quantity.

2- Government must control prices by fixing the highest and lowest. competitive prices of Agri products especially; Tomato, onions, sugarcane, rice, and wheat.

3- A member of the grower community must be included in the agriculture policy-making panel and with his/her mandatory opinion.

4 - The drainage system of Sindh must be secured, and all drainage outfall must be dugout and original courses must be preserved.

 

All demands from growers are appropriate in terms of law and their rights. They are demanding fix prices because their products are bought cheaply and sold expensively which also lead hike in price. They want their memeber in Agriculture policy making panel because agriculture policies are made which benefits more to trader than farmer.

 Drainage system of Sindh need to be secure and repair. Failure of drainage outfall in rural areas caused flood in district Badin last year.

  Importing tomatoes from neighbor country is not long term solution to beat price hike. Increasing average yeild in months of  Aguast, September and October might be effective.

  The average yield per acre in Sindh is up to 3.3 to 5 tons. In Canada, it is 30 tons per acre. According to the FAO Food and Agriculture Organization, Pakistan ranks 34th in tomato production. Which has an area of sixty thousand hectares for tomato cultivation, and produces 566 thousand tons annually.

The maximum import of tomato was  290 thousand tones during 2012-2013.

If the average yield is increased up to 10 tones per acre then annual production will be 1.4 million tons. There will be no need to import and will be ever exprted. It can be done by using modern techniques and establishing research centers in tomato productive districts across the country. 

Tomatoes, Its marketing, and Growers of Badin Waseem Akram IR 

Practical work carried under supervision of Sir Sohail Sangi 

Media & Communication Studies, University of Sindh