KARACHI: Increase in the price of rice in the local market has inspired growers to sow genetically modified seeds of paddy to get more produce, revealed reports gathered by The News from different districts.

Even the major cash crop cotton has been put on lower priority because of the persistently mealy bug attack that had affected the per acre cotton production badly in the previous years. It is now the general preference of growers to utilise genetically modified seeds instead of local ones because it yields more profit.

Mir Mohammed Pirzado, an agronomist and former director Wheat Research Institute, Sakrand said that traditionally there are some tracts which are suitable for different crops. For instance, the land and environment of Larkana are healthy for paddy crops. British rulers, after ascertaining the potential of the land, had developed Rice Station Dokri, which was later upgraded to the Rice Research Institute to promote the rice. These foreign rulers had then initiated schemes to give incentives to local growers, who used to export fragrant Sugdasi (Arona) in the world market.

Pirzado, who originally belongs to Dokri and has been associated with the agriculture research, told The News that after the decrease in irrigation water, the excessive use of fertiliser and tube-well water, the lands have lost its fertility. Besides, he said that the local paddy plants are longer than the genetically modified crop, which cannot survive at some places. Secondly, the modified seed give more yields as compared to the local seed. He said that in Sindh growers always export this product to get more cash and are reluctant to keep it for food. He said that the local people buy Punjab-produced quality rice, including ‘kernel rice’. However, he said that the Gulf States love this ‘IRRI’ rice. IRRI stands for International Rice Research Institute. Based in the Philippines IRRI is an autonomous, nonprofit rice research organisation with mission to reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensure that rice production is environmentally sustainable.

Pirzado gave credit to the Punjab rice research institutes, which have produced quality paddy crops through cross breeding. The Punjab province supplies its rice all over the country.

Pirzado said that as compared to the local plant, modified seeds are disease-resistant and can survive in the local environment. According to him, the IRRI paddy models are originally from the Philippines, which now have been introduced in the world, including Pakistan.

He said that few growers still cultivate local fragrant paddy crop for domestic use or sending gifts to family friends and government officials.

Talking about the role of the Rice Research Institute, Dokri, Larkana district, he said it could not give input because of unnecessary interference of high-ups and transferring of technical people on political basis. He said earlier the Rice Research Institute had introduced quality rice in the form of the Latifi Rice model, but they could not maintain it. He said that the research institute should undertake the introduction of quality rice for domestic use, because presently the reliance was on Punjabi rice.

Mithal Mallah, Field Assistant, Sindh Seed Corporation (SSC), Sakrand of Nawabshah district said that now there are no more local commodities of paddy crops in the entire area, as majority of the growers use different IRRI models, including IRRI 6-9, and 10. Mallah said that the rice commodities, locally known as Sugdasi and Ratria were tasty, but now have disappeared from the local market. “Not only does its fragrance cover the entire vicinity while cooking but its plants also attract large number of animals and birds over.”

The reason for the changing trend of cultivating paddy instead of cotton, which has been the major cash crops in the Sindh province, is the fact that the mealy bug has caused huge loss to growers in the recent consecutive years, say growers. Now they are reluctant to cultivate cotton and are instead sowing paddy to earn more money.

Earlier, the SSC tried to provide samples of paddy to local growers but then looking at the inclination of growers, they changed their mind and are only supplying the seeds of wheat and cotton to willing farmers.

Previously growers used to spare seeds for next year’s sowing but now they use genetically modified seeds, which do not survive for that long. That is why growers have to purchase new seed every year.

Sanghar, a cotton cultivation district, has also witnessed a change in the mindset of growers. They have sown rice instead of cotton this year because of the losses made by mealy bug attacks in the previous years, local growers said.

Gulab Shah, a small grower from the Indus Delta region said that the price of modified seed in the local market is Rs300 per kilogram. Fourteen killogrammes are sufficient for one-acre against 40kg to 50 kg local paddy seed for the area. About per acre product, he said that the modified seed, known locally as Irri- models produce 80 to 100 maunds per acre against the 25 to 40 maunds output of local paddy models.

He said that the Indus Delta region, known as the paddy cultivation area, is witnessing the changing mind of local growers sowing IRRI instead of red rice, the popular produce of the region. “Water shortage is the main problem, otherwise the farmers are eager to cultivate more paddy crops because of its market demand, locally and abroad,” Shah explained.