Financing Rabi Sowing

By Saleem Shaikh
Monday, 18 Oct, 2010 | 01:14 AM PST |

THE Sindh government’s efforts to boost Rabi cultivation may receive a setback if banks do not fully cater to the credit needs of the flood-ravaged growers.

Farmers complain that banks are risk-averse facing financial squeeze, particularly due to the recent sharp increase in their non-performing loans in agriculture sector, which has been devastated by the floods.

While significant amount of standing Kharif crops, farming machines, seed stocks for Rabi crops and fertilisers have been washed away, the farmers are less likely to be able to undertake Rabi sowing on their own. And, therefore, “financial assistance for the flood-hit farmers is a must,” the agriculture economists believe.

Displaced by the ravaging floods, the financially-battered farmers are willing to go back to their fields and get engaged in Rabi sowing. But, they need seed, fertiliser, DAP, pesticides and farming tools for ploughing and land leveling, for which they should have an easy access to financial support.

Reports that growers are facing obstacles in obtaining credit loans from banks in flood-ravaged districts of the province have surfaced recently. Farmer leaders say, “when they visit banks for farm credit they are discouraged in different ways.”

“Bank officials tell farmers that they have been directed not to sanction any credit without valid guarantees,” said a farmer. “Other than government, who else can provide guarantees to such hapless farmers who have lost everything and are now penniless,” he questions.

“In this hour of need these farmers are looking towards the government to rescue them from the misery with financial support for raising their crops,” said Akhund Ghulam Mohammad, general secretary of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture.

On September 24, following deliberation on reviving flood-hit agriculture in Sindh between the provincial government and the State Bank governor, banks were approached to provide agriculture loans to flood-hit farmers. But the banks, in a reply to the provincial planning and development department’s request, questioned the government’s proposal and said it did not meet (banks’) certain criteria for sanctioning loans.

“They ask for surety measures,” said an official in the economic planning section of the provincial P&DD.

Another official in the provincial finance department said that the provincial government had brought the matter of banks’ reluctance to farm credit to the notice of the SBP and asked it to help sort out the matter.

Meanwhile, the provincial government has also tried to know banks’ viewpoint through the SBP if they would provide loans to farmers against ‘Form VII’ (ownership deed) and possession certificates supported with guarantees and undertakings from the provincial revenue department; and that the farmers’ passbooks would be issued to them within specified time, a senior official in the provincial revenue department said.

But the banks, an official told this scribe, have declined to accept such proposals. Instead, they have demanded record of average sales value over three years, number of produce index units (PIUs) and credit history of borrowers, which would help the lending banks to evaluate value of farm land to be offered as collateral.

An official in a bank’s main branch in Karachi said the banks had refused to accept the ownership deed on the ground that it was not possible to verify it as the revenue record of the flood-hit farmers might have been destroyed.

He said that banks feared default on such risk-prone farm loans and subsequent litigations against the defaulting farmers. The proposed undertaking by the provincial Board of Revenue (BoR) would not have any legal validity in establishing their claim over a property in a court of law.

In the first week of October, an official in the central bank’s farm credit department conveyed to provincial P&DD secretary Naheed Durrani that the banks would sanction loans to farmers only if the government furnished a ‘provisional credit surety’ to banks up to the loan amount in conjunction with the markup till the time the charge was created on the passbook in favour of the banks in conformity with the Commercial and Industrial Purposes Act 1973.

One of the major reasons behind the banks’ evident wariness towards loaning the farming sector is that recent floods have raised the NPLs, said a senior bank official.

The central bank estimates these NPLs to be over Rs28 billion, according to the preliminary data of the SBP.

The bankers say that the flood-hit agriculture sector is in the worst shape, which needs a hefty amount for revival. “Not only have the infrastructure but also the land been ravaged by the deluge. It means preparation of the land for cultivation would be a difficult task and will not be possible without huge financial investments. However, it is not going to happen until the government ensures its increased and active participation,” they opined.

Officials in the provincial agriculture department state: “We have chalked out a plan for the revival of farmlands in the province from where over 60-65 farmers took refugee after the deluge battered their crops and villages. But, the ‘agriculture revival plan’ will be of no use if the farmers fail to get hassle-free access to farm credit on low markup.”

Available on Dawn Newspaper's website:

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Water and Sanitation Woes of Dam Fishing area in Western Sindh

By Saleem Shaikh

Monday, 11 Oct, 2010 | 02:10 AM PST |

THE Dam fishing area of Lasbella district, some 90 kilometres northwest of Karachi, once used to be a busy fish-landing site and a scenic eco-tourism point in Balochistan.

It was also the centre of economic activity, with the lowest level of poverty and unemployment in the province. Thousands of tons of fish catch was unloaded every day at the area’s only jetty, known as Dam Jetty, and transported to Karachi and other parts of the country.

In the past, over 2,000 large fishing vessels and hundreds of small boats would berth at the Dam Jetty every week and unload tons of fish catch. Over 30,000 locals used to earn their livelihood from the economic activities at the jetty, according to official reports.

Many local people were also involved in the profession of boat-making and earning their livelihood. Unfortunately, the demand for boats is at its lowest ebb owing to the dwindling fishing activities. Around 85 per cent of boat-makers have lost their jobs and switched over to other professions, Ali Ahmed, a former boat-maker, said.

“This is due to, among other reasons, the depleting stocks of fish in the sea as a result of excessive catch and use of nets of prohibited bore,” said Salam Maheri, an official of the federal marine fisheries department.

Because of damaging fishing practices, the coastal waters which had enormous marine fish, have very little stock, said Ali Hasnain, a WWF – Pakistan’s Marine Coastal Development consultant.

The fishing boat owners estimate around 70 per cent drop in fish catch over the last two months. They said: “The situation grew alarming since the big investors stepped in the fishing activities at the cost of small fishermen. They particularly used prohibited nets, commonly known as Bullo, Gujjo and wire net, wherein even the smallest fish would get caught,” he said. A visit to the area indicates that restricted nets were being used by fishermen as heaps of small fish are littered around the landing site and being destroyed.

“When we small boat owners go for fishing only small fish are netted,” said Nabi Baloch, a fisherman of the area. “Although small fish never fetch good prices in local markets, they are in high demand by chicken feed factories.

Pir Bux, member of the MIT, said that a 40kg container of Pomfret of small size usually fetches around Rs6,000-8,000. But the same quantity fish when one-foot large, would fetch Rs80,000.

“In fact, small nets are banned in the area but big investors, with strong links with political clout, use them with impunity,” he said.

Many of them hold the area fisheries department officials responsible for unlawful fishing practices. Fisheries experts say that because of inappropriate fishing practices, some of 350 fish species of high economic value found in the coastal waters of the area, are gradually becoming extinct.

At present, pomfret, shrimp, Indian threadfin, black seabream, mullets, spotted croaker, barramundi, requiem, shark, grouper, croaker, crab, species of jellyfish are found in these coastal waters.

“Absence of basic facilities, modern speeding boats, proper roads and cleanliness in the area have dealt a hard blow to eco-tourism activities and only a few people visit the area now,” said Master Abdul Rasheed of Sonmiani Development Organisation.

Non-availability of potable water is a major problem for some 10,000 families living in the Dam fishing village. “We have to spend a hefty amount of our hard-earned money for buying drinking water, which is brought from Karachi through tankers,” said Rafiq Baloch, a local fisherman, who hardly earns Rs140-160 a day.

Master Abdul Rasheed believed the lost economic activities and eco-tourism growth potential of the area could be regained if Balochistan government invested in the basic infrastructure of the area including provision of potable water, sanitation, drainage, schools and health facilities.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/economic-and-business/boosting-marine-fisheries-100