Interview with Dr. Shahid Zia – Lok Sanjh Foundation
Dr. Shahid Zia – Lok Sanjh Foundation
1. What is Lok Sanjh? A brief history, aims & objectives?
SZ: Lok Sanjh is farmers’ organization striving for their rights and supporting them in improving their livelihoods. Started in few villages back in 1996, now it is working with more than 200 rural communities in 9 districts of Punjab and Kashmir. With partners, Lok Sanjh is working in Sind and Baluchistan also. While Lok Sanjh work primarily on food production systems, sustainable natural resource management and national and global policies that affect farming communities, Lok Sanjh also supported earthquake-affected communities of Kashmir and built 9 schools, longest hanging bridge of Kashmir, and more than 1500 houses/shelters.
2. What is sustainable agriculture and how our farmer can benefit of if?
SZ: Sustainable agriculture involves management of agricultural production systems that help not only maintain productive capacity of life supporting systems but also improving those resources that have negatively been affected by the green revolution technologies and other interventions of profit hungry transnational companies. In the pursuit of promoting green revolution technologies, Pakistan’s productive soils have been reduced to the one with very level of organic matter, water bodies polluted with pesticides/herbicides, and natural biodiversity eroded. It is challenging to re-gain organic matter and make soils productive again. Over use of pesticides have also affected soil micro-organisms and most of our food grains, vegetables and fruits now contain more than permissible limits of pesticides and herbicides that can potentially damage human health. Lok Sanjh have initiated sustainable agriculture programme in rain-fed and irrigated areas of Punjab and mountain areas of Kashmir. Pesticide use has been reduced to zero level and soils have been regenerated. Farmers are producing healthy crops and at lower costs also. Productivity has been increased and farmers are able to sell healthy food crops at relatively higher prices. So farmers’ income is increased and their families are consuming more and better food.
3. What modern technologies we are using and how it can uplift living standards of our farmer?
SZ: We are using improved indigenous technologies to regenerate agricultural economies. It includes improved local varieties of food crops, better compost making technologies, green manuring techniques, indigenous methods of pest control, water conservation and harvesting techniques, and livestock based mixed farming systems. Lok Sanjh introduces these technologies through capacity building, farmers’ field schools and farmers’ research and development programmes.
4. What are the obstacles, threats and uncertainties our agri-sector is facing?
SZ: Pakistan agriculture is facing both internal and external challenges. At national level, agriculture sector faces challenges of:
1. Food price crisis
2. Climate change threats
3. Energy crisis
4. Directionless agricultural policies
While national challenges are complex, international threats are equally important to understand and to be addressed. Multinational companies are actively working at global and national level to push for global agreements and national legislations that would create conditions for their business on seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and other technologies. In principle, there is nothing wrong to pursue a business friendly environment. But, practically, multinational companies are trying to create monopolies on seeds and other basic inputs and technologies and they want to do it through influencing national policies and legislations through global agreements. Less than 10 multinational companies now control more than 80 percent of the global seed markets. In Pakistan they are striving to monopolize wheat, rice and cotton seeds. All crops are very important for food and financial security of the country.
Pakistan needs to pay serious attention on the climate change threats and challenges. It is going to change both temperature and moisture regimes. Sowing and harvesting seasons are going to change that requires immediate shift and adaptation in production technologies. Particularly, rain-fed agriculture that provides more than 10 percent of the food we produce in Pakistan needs serious adaptation. It is the time for Pakistan’s Agricultural Research System to initiate research and produce technologies that help farmers adapt to fast changing climate. While Pakistan faces serious challenges in changing climate, there are some opportunities we need to focus on. By just mid season drying in rice production can help reduce methane emission considerably and Pakistan can seek Payment for Environment Services for reducing methane emissions. Rain-fed agriculture also helps in carbon sequestration that we can work on.
5. What measures we can took to build capacity building of our farmer?
SZ: Our present agricultural extension system is out dated and is no more effective in delivering agricultural technologies to the farmers. We need to make radical changes in our extension system using available information technologies and farmers field school methodologies. Agricultural universities should also play a role in knowledge extension through farmers’ fares and conferences. Research institutions should also develop mechanisms for technology dissemination. Many NGOs working on agriculture can also be engaged in technology transfer system.
6. Lok Sanjh talked about Dehqan Assembly, what does it mean and how it can address the issues of our agriculture community?
SZ: Pakistan Dehqan Assembly is a platform of small farmers to discuss their policy and development issues. Though Lok Sanjh supports their efforts and demands, Pakistan Dehqan Assembly is a separate entity of small farmers. Its structures involve village assemblies, and then district assembles. Village assemblies discuss the basic issues they face and forward their recommendations to district assemblies. The district assemblies pursue issues that need attention of policy makers. For instance, in Sheikhupura district, there are more than 40000 farmers who do not have access to the canal irrigation water due to the gross mismanagement of canal water and governments inability to ensure the fair share of water going to each and every farmer. Large farmers divert water to their fields illegally and deprive these small farmers from canal water. For the last 30 years or so these poor farmers are paying for the water they never received. Pakistan Dehqan Assembly is taking this issue forward and approaching relevant authorities for the farmers’ rights.
7. What strategic and policy issues are affecting our agri-sector?
SZ: I have discussed most of these above. But there are other issues that need attention of political parties and national and provincial governments. For instance, sugar crisis in Pakistan is not a natural occurring phenomenon. It is a gross mismanagement and monopolistic control of few families who happen to be politically influential also. Due to the plight of farmers by these few sugar mill owners, farmers have reduced area under sugarcane. It happened after several years of unjust behaviour of sugar mill owners. Like, they delayed payments to farmers sometimes by months and years. Every year sugar mills start their operations late compelling farmers rush to sell their sugar cane early so that they can sow wheat. Late crushing season not only affect sugarcane growers but also affects wheat production in the country. Farmers are not allowed to sell their cane to any mill and are forced through zoning to sell to the mill in their own area. That means no competition among the sugar mills and they can easily get together and behave like a monopoly. So what happened? They have made Sugar Mills Association and act as a monopoly. On the other hand, farmers are not allowed to form any union or association to negotiate their demands and issues. Governments are not willing to take this issue up as most of the sugar mill owners are also sitting in all the political parties and the in the parliament. As a result, sugar prices have increased from Rs 30 to more than Rs 70 with no benefits to the sugarcane farmers and it is affecting almost every Pakistani consumer. I am afraid if we will fail to address this issue, Pakistan will not be able to get out of this mess and will fall in one crisis after another and few sugar mill owners will continue to benefit from these crisis.
8. What role government should play for financial sustainability of agri-sector?
SZ: It is not just the financial sustainability of the agricultural sector that government should focus on. It is basically the structure and functioning of the whole food sector that demands government’s attention. The world is changing and is changing fast. It requires changes in the agricultural systems at all the levels otherwise we will not be able to keep pace with global developments. Agriculture can provide the needed impetus in economic growth if reorganized and linked to agricultural led rural industrialization. That is needed to create new rural jobs and value addition in our agricultural production. Value chains in livestock and crop sector can trigger off new development opportunities both in rural areas and in the neighbouring urban markets. But that requires serious exercises and planning at all levels to develop national agricultural vision and then local and regional development plans with effective political will. I am afraid that is not the priority of the present governments or they do not have the needed political will.
9. Anything would you like to add?
SZ: Lok Sanjh is in the process to introduce new fibre crop called Sisal in Pakistan. Sisal fortunately does not require much water and can be grown with couple of rains and in most of the marginalized areas like we have in Baluchistan, South of NWFP, Northern and Southern Punjab and in many parts of Sind. One acre of Sisal can offer returns almost equal to one acre of cotton. The Sisal fibre is being used in many different industries and is its demand is growing very fast. We can benefit from the experiences from China and other sisal growing countries. We can shift the present jute industry to sisal use with very little adaptation, if needed. I hope that will bring Golden Revolution in the country.
Dr. Shahid Zia
Lok Sanjh Foundation
Pakistan