In Sindh, share tenants usually do large holdings' cultivation. Crop production shared between tenants and land owners on a 25/75 percent basis is found to a limited extent in Badin, Tharparkar, Mirpur Khas, Sanghar, Hyderabad and in the southern part of the Nawabshah district. Obviously, this is a very disadvantageous contractual situation for the tenant. Leasing of land is also common in Sindh, in which a landowner, who cannot cultivate the land, frequently leases it. As compared to ricecultivating areas, rents are high in the cotton zone (SZABIST 2001). In southern Punjab, cultivation of landholdings is allotted on annually renewable contracts known as patta. Sharecroppers are paid in cash or kind, receiving a 60 percent share of crop. Parchi (receipt) is a specific type of cash payment. It denotes slips that can be encashed at the end of the season (Hussain 1999). Hence, it basically represents a loan extended to the grower by the sharecropper. The distribution of farmland is unequal. Small and marginal farms operating less than 2.5 acres accounted for 18 percent of the total cotton area in the country and half of the total cotton-growing farms in the country. With an average 20-25 percent of cultivation costs, land rent represents a substantial share of farmers' expenses (Figure 4). Agricultural Inputs Cotton seeds are a crucial agricultural input. Although they do not represent a major cost to producers (Figure 4), their purchase nonetheless involves financial and other risks. Pakistan produces seeds since the mid-1970s by the Sindh and Punjab Seed Corporations. In recent years, some private firms have also started producing cotton seed. The Federal Seed Certification Department exercises quality control of crop seeds. One of the problems faced is the inefficiency of public sector departments in approving seeds, affecting crop production negatively (SZABIST 2001). Also, unregistered seed companies often sell substandard and premature seed varieties. Amongst others, unapproved varieties are more prone to pest attacks. It is estimated that there are over 800 unregistered seed dealers in the cotton-growing areas of southern Punjab alone (The News, 2007c). Seed is treated with fungicides before sowing, which causes additional cost to the growers (Business Recorder 2007b).
Figure 4: Per acre cost of production of seed cotton, 2005/06 (% of gross cultivation cost) 120 100 80 60 40 20
24 22 13 19
14
14
8 9 10
11 8 7 6 4
20 7
0 Punjab
Sindh
Land rent Plant protection Fertilizer Irrigation Picking Land preparation Interculture Seed & sowing
Box 1: Use of Bt cotton in Pakistan The genetically modified Bt cotton contains a foreign gene taken from soil bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis. In Bt cotton, an insecticide is produced within the plant. When insects, especially bollworm larvae, hatch, they inject the Bt protein along with plant tissue. In reaction, the protein becomes active and kills the larvae. The cultivation of Bt cotton is not legally allowed in Pakistan. Pakistan Plant Quarantine Rules 1976 strongly oppose the import of any plant or material, which may be a source or medium of infection and pests destructive to agriculture except under a valid import permit. Similarly, under the Pakistan Seed Act 1976, the sale of any seed of any notified variety or species is prohibited unless its variety or species is identifiable and conforms to stipulated limits of germination and purity standards. Finally, the National Biosafety Committee (NBC), Ministry of Environment also restricts the use of Bt cotton (Bhambhro no date). The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock cleared a new variety of the Bt cotton “IRFH901�, though, it is yet to be formally approved by National Biosafety Committee (Hussain 2007). Despite these legal barriers, Bt cotton is being cultivated illegally in Pakistan. Initially, Bt cottonseed was smuggled from Australia to Pakistan and cultivated at a few private farms in the Umerkot district in Sindh. The smuggled seeds were multiplied there and shifted to nearby ginning factories at Shahdadpur, Sanghar district. Subsequently, the Bt cottonseed was distributed further to the farmers of the Nawabshah, Mirpur Khas, Hyderabad and Sanghar districts (Hayee no date). It is estimated that more than 500,000 acres are presently under the genetically modified Bt cotton, which so far has not been approved by authorities (Rao 2007). During the Kharif, i.e. from April to October, season of 2002, cultivation of Bt cotton was undertaken in the districts Khairpur and Sukkur, over a joint area of 70 acres (Bhambhro no date). Figure 5 provides an estimate of the area cultivated with Bt cotton in selected districts of Sindh. Supporters claim that growing Bt cotton would help farmers to reduce their significant pesticides-related expenses and, hence, have benign effects on workers' health and the environment. In contrast, opponents assume that, in the long run, Bt cotton will become vulnerable to pest attacks. Bt cotton escaping from pollen grains might harm other crops in the neighbourhood and the environment. This genetically modified crop also requires the intensive use of specific pesticides by the same multinational company that is a major promoter of Bt cotton (Bhambhro no date).
Source: Agricultural Prices Commission (2004)
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