Agriculture Reforms in Zardari Era 2008 To 2013
Agriculture Reforms in Zardari Era 2008 To 2013
Agriculture Reforms in Zardari Era 2008 To 2013
2013
Presidential elections were held within three weeks after the departure of
Musharraf. Zardari vowed to pursue an unpopular campaign against tribal
militancy in Pakistan and had the support of the United States. He claimed he had
a London business school degree to satisfy a prerequisite for the presidency, but
his party did not produce a certificate. He was endorsed by the PPP and
the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for the presidency. The PML-N
nominated former justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui, while the PML-Q put
forth Mushahid Hussain Sayed. Zardari won a majority in the Electoral
College with 481 of 702 votes. He was elected President on 6 September 2008.
While rejecting the bailout package, Zardari said the package was “devoid of
substance and sincerity and aimed only at deceiving the farmers,” reads
a statement issued by the PPP.
“When opposition parties, the farmers and the people were agitating for
rescuing farmers from loss, the government turned a deaf ear but as soon as the
LG polls were announced it has offered a relief package but without specifying
any source of funding.”
“As a result, Sindh today is surplus in food enabling it to distribute more than
one million bags of wheat free of charge in Thar alone,” he said.
He also alleged that instead of drawing lesson from the Sindh government the
PML-N government was trying to malign the provincial government through
federal agencies in an unconstitutional manner.
The package includes immediate cash grants for rice and cotton farmers, cuts in
fertiliser prices, and a government scheme to pay insurance premiums for
farmers who cannot afford them. It also includes collateral guarantees for loans,
and tax breaks for the dairy, poultry and fish.
The farm sector contributes 22 per cent to the GDP and a major employer in rural
areas but was neglected by almost all the governments, he contended.
The country experienced deficit in all staple foods except rice because of
defective and flawed policies while spending billion of dollars in importing these
not only increased poverty level but also raised unemployment graph and the
only solution for enhancing productivity is a long-term strategic policy, he stated.
The twin menace of corruption and commission has given rise to imperfect
policies enabling those involved in projects to pocket 60 per cent of development
budget, he claimed. This, he added, has declined the productivity and enhanced
production cost thus squeezing the poor employed in agriculture.
A profitable agricultural support price policy prior to the cultivation of every crop
should be announced for encouraging farmers and activating the Trade
Corporation of Pakistan and Passco, he proposed.
Hailing the government's decision of building small dams, he called for giving
priority to canals, branches and water courses as it would help in saving irrigation
water loss and protect land from water logging and salinity.
The performance of Sindh Irrigation and Agriculture departments has gone down
as allocated funds remain unproductive, said SAB chief.
Action needs to be taken against manufacturers and sellers, hoarders and black-
marketers of sub-standard fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides, he suggested
and sought pest-resistant certified seeds at subsidised rates along with doing
more for research work as lack of quality seed forces farmers to compromise on
quality by using admixture seed.
Gada Hussain Mahisar called for concessional loans of three per cent to farmers,
early irrigation water supply and doing away with the practice of using farm land
for housing societies.
He sent the copies of his letter to federal minister for agriculture, chairman
Pakistan Agriculture Research Council, Chief Secretary Sindh and other concerned.