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NAWABSHAH, Mar 16 (APP):The President of Hari Welfare Association (HWA), Akram Khaskheli has said that 70% of Sindh’s population is dependent on agriculture. However, measures have not been taken for the development of agriculture, leading to extreme poverty among farmers and pushing agriculture to the brink of destruction.
In a statement on Sunday Khaskheli said that due to the rising prices of agricultural seeds and fertilizers, along with the lack of fair crop prices, farmers and cultivators are unable to cover their production costs, forcing them into debt.
He further said that thousands of peasants remain landless and trapped in bonded labor due to the failure to enforce labour and peasants rights laws.
Agricultural workers and laborers receive extremely low wages, far below the legal minimum wage, with no social security or legal protection. He said that despite legal protections, bonded labor continues to exist, with peasants trapped in cycles of debt due to an unjust feudal system.
He said that the worsening water crisis, exacerbated by upstream water projects, has significantly reduced water availability for irrigation, leading to poverty, displacement, and food insecurity.
The situation has been further aggravated by severe water shortages, which have led to large-scale crop failures.
Millions of acres of fertile land in Sindh have already turned barren due to insufficient irrigation, and the construction of six new canals on the Indus River threatens to worsen the crisis.
The deliberate deprivation of Sindh’s rightful share of water is a blatant attack on the livelihoods of its people, forcing farmers to abandon their lands and pushing agricultural laborers into unemployment.
HWA urges all concerned stakeholders, including civil society organizations, policymakers, and international human rights bodies, to stand in solidarity with Sindh’s peasantry and labor force to prevent further suffering and injustice.