Approx 40% drop in the purchase price of the rice crop in Hyderabad has unsettled the farmers, sparking reactions and protests from the agrarian community. Thanks to the favourable monsoon, Telangana has record paddy harvest this year, however factors like, escalating input costs, urea shortages, and a nationwide rice glut have driven prices below MSP, threatening profits.
The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), a group which campaigns for farmers’ rights, held the Sindh government’s anti-growers’ policies responsible for the price manipulation of rice crop. To express their anger, farmers in Badin district held a demonstration to express their anger over the low paddy price. According to the SAB president Mahmood Nawaz Shah, the paddy price has been artificially lowered down from Rs3,500 per 40 kilograms to Rs 2,200 per 40 kg. Whereas the other side depicts a completely different story, the cost of production continues to increase, and govt. has not marked any official policy to ensure transparency and fairness in paddy purchases from the growers. He further said that rice is not only the largest kharif crop but also the largest exported crops. To ensure transparency government should create a business environment. Large numbers of farmers held demonstrations in Badin and Thatta districts on Sunday, blaming the rice mills, middlemen and the provincial government for their exploitation.