Chilli growers cry as substandard seeds, fertilisers singe yields by Jan Khaskheli Small chilli farmers from Umerkot, Tharparkar, Mirprkhas and Badin districts are facing colossal losses as substandard seeds, poor quality of pesticides and adulterated fertilisers have played havoc on yields.
Rs60,000-Rs70,000 per acre for my own four acre piece of family land. I was expecting to earn through this precious crop, as usual- but all was in vain due to receiving low yield against expectations,” he said disappointedly.
modity at the trader-set low rates.
Farmers bought expensive seeds available in the market, and like most years, the seeds were not up to mark. They lamented government apathy and lack of regulation in this regard.
Many growers at Runn tributary, flowing from major Mithrao canal also spent huge amounts on purchasing seeds for their lands, but they too faced heavy losses on account of low yields.
Current chilli rate is Rs12,000Rs13,000/bag, but unfortunately producers cannot benefit much from this price due to low yields.
Plant health was questionable at the nurseries, where the seedlings usually develop in February to March. Transplantation starts at the end of April and continues in early May, farmers explained.
Normally, farmers earn Rs300,000Rs500,000/acre, depending on the market situation. However, this year, these farmers hardly received Rs20,000Rs25,000/per acre when they sold chillies in the market.
A majority of chilli farmers belong to the same areas where last year’s ravaging rain flood in September destroyed standing crops, leaving nothing behind.
As per growers, some particular dealers were providing hybrid seeds under dubious labels in the market. Each packet of seeds was priced between Rs1,800Rs2,200, each acre requires 10 packets of seeds. So, farmers spend Rs20,000Rs30,000 on seeds per acre. Other input costs that the farmers bear are for chemicals, tractor and labour.
Muhammad Sadiq, a grower of Kaloi, Tharparkar district bought chilli seeds between Rs1,800 and Rs2,200/packet this year. He sowed chilli on four acres of family land following the standard process, as usually starting with seedling nursery and transplantation. However, he faced low germination rate, slow growth of the plants, and low yield. “Like other farmers, I spent around March April 2022
Ghulam Hussain, another farmer of the same area, said there was fear when it rained in June this year, as farmers remembered last year’s losses after the floods in September. To avoid huge losses, farmers sold the perishable com-
“We sold our produce for Rs5,000Rs7,000/bag, as traders set low rates, pleading rain damage,” he explained. Those bags were stocked by traders in wait for higher market rates.
Under normal circumstances, farmers get around 250-300 maund fresh chilli or above per acre. After processing and drying, they save 80-100 maund for the market. This year, only 10-20 maunds per acre were harvested from the chilli plants, which farmers pin on substandard seeds. Hajan Leghari, another farmer from Jhudo said his family cultivated chilli on four acres of land but could not recover the cost of cultivation. “We got hardly two or three harvests instead of five-six in normal crops,” he added. Chilli growers in parts of Kunri, Kaloi, Jhudo, Samaro and Badin district, which are known chilli producing areas, have been protesting against companies selling substandard seeds. Some growers quote Seed (Amendment) Act 2015, which guaran-
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