Experts at a workshop call for better relations between farmers and landlords; The FAO with the financial support of the European Union is working in the province of Sindh
Tandojam Sindh
National and international experts and policy-making organizations have emphasized better relations between farmers and landlords to eliminate the concept of forced labor from the agricultural sector.
“Nearly 5 thousand farmers have signed agreements with their landlords,” the experts said and added that farmers will be prosperous in the form of better production.
“The farmers have been trained to improve the productivity of the land through organic farming,” experts said speaking at a workshop held under the auspices of Sindh Agriculture University on Thursday.
The workshop titled “Impact assessment validation and learning” was held at the university senate hall, in collaboration with Sindh Government, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the European Union (EU). Several delegates from SAU, Agricultural Research, Agriculture Extension, Irrigation department, CIDA, and social representatives participated.
Addressing the opening ceremony, the Vice Chancellor of Sindh Agriculture University, Dr. Fateh Marri, said that increasing production is necessary for food security, and the comprehensive agreement between the landlords and the peasants regarding shareholding is an important development. “This way, we can ensure food security and Food Production systems can also be implemented.”
He said that the number of incidents caused by poverty in the country, especially in Sindh, is high. If we can increase our production per acre by 5 to 10 percent, the poverty, and unemployment will decrease by 50 percent within the next 10 years.
Ms. Florence Rolle, representative of United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) addressed virtually and said that they are working on various agricultural projects in collaboration with the Sindh Agriculture University. The FAO with the financial support of the European Union (EU) is working in the province of Sindh.”
Landless peasants in Sindh usually have access to land as tenants through oral agreements between themselves and landlords, but now a system of better tenancy has been introduced for them, which has had a positive impact on agriculture, and has succeeded in ending the concept of bonded labor in rural agriculture of Sindh.
Mr. James Okoth, head of FAO’s Sindh office, said that all stakeholders have a role to play in sustaining natural resources and encouraging people to invest. In this regard, the government, private institutions, landlords and farmers will have to be brought on the same page.
On this occasion, Mr. Roberto Aparicio Martin of EU presented his remarks virtually, and FAO’s Ms. Marianna Bicchieri, FAO Consultant Dr. Heman Das Lohano, Dr. Junaid Memon, and Raja Ajmal presented their papers on various topics.
Dr. Jan Muhammad Marri, Pro Vice Chancellor, Dr. Muhammad Ismail Kumbhar, Ashfaque Ahmed Nahyoon, and others addressed the event, while group discussions were also held. (PR)
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