“We got hardly two or three harvests instead of five-six in normal crops,” he added.Ĭhilli 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. Hajan Leghari, another farmer from Jhudo said his family cultivated chilli on four acres of land but could not recover the cost of cultivation. This year, only 10-20 maunds per acre were harvested from the chilli plants, which farmers pin on substandard seeds. After processing and drying, they save 80-100 maund for the market. Under normal circumstances, farmers get around 250-300 maund fresh chilli or above per acre. Those bags were stocked by traders in wait for higher market rates.Ĭurrent chilli rate is Rs12,000-Rs13,000/bag, but unfortunately producers cannot benefit much from this price due to low yields. “We sold our produce for Rs5,000-Rs7,000/bag, as traders set low rates, pleading rain damage,” he explained. To avoid huge losses, farmers sold the perishable commodity at the trader-set low rates. 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. Other input costs that the farmers bear are for chemicals, tractor and labour. So, farmers spend Rs20,000-Rs30,000 on seeds per acre. Each packet of seeds was priced between Rs1,800-Rs2,200, each acre requires 10 packets of seeds. However, this year, these farmers hardly received Rs20,000-Rs25,000/per acre when they sold chillies in the market.Īs per growers, some particular dealers were providing hybrid seeds under dubious labels in the market. Normally, farmers earn Rs300,000-Rs500,000/acre, depending on the market situation. 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. 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. “Like other farmers, I spent around Rs60,000-Rs70,000 per acre for my own four acre piece of family land. However, he faced low germination rate, slow growth of the plants, and low yield. He sowed chilli on four acres of family land following the standard process, as usually starting with seedling nursery and transplantation. Muhammad Sadiq, a grower of Kaloi, Tharparkar district bought chilli seeds between Rs1,800 and Rs2,200/packet this year. Transplantation starts at the end of April and continues in early May, farmers explained.Ī majority of chilli farmers belong to the same areas where last year’s ravaging rain flood in September destroyed standing crops, leaving nothing behind. Plant health was questionable at the nurseries, where the seedlings usually develop in February to March.
They lamented government apathy and lack of regulation in this regard. Farmers bought expensive seeds available in the market, and like most years, the seeds were not up to mark.