During the ongoing season, the growers are facing a multitude of problems. In the interior Sindh, with the start of cultivation of Kharif crop, an artificial shortage of seeds and agri products has started, and to add insult to injury, black marketing has increased manifolds. The situation of availability of seeds is especially worse in districts where rice is being cultivated. This is the reason that the cultivation of rice on thousands of acres is getting affected.
The rice growers had not yet started leveling fields that an artificial shortage of seeds has been created. In the interior Sindh, local varieties of seeds, including RE-6, RE-5, RE-4, DR-83, KS-82, are not available in the market. According to reports, many dealers and traders of rice seeds have hoarded huge reserves of various varieties of hybrid seeds owing to the fact that last year there was great demand of the hybrid seeds that ultimately led to black marketing. The main aim of these traders is to create an artificial hike in the prices of these seeds varieties and earn profit.
It is worth mentioning that during the year 2004-05 season, the hybrid varieties of rice seeds gained immense popularity among the growers. The average produce of rice jumped 100 maund per acre. But last year, the growers didn’t get encouraging yield with the use of hybrid seeds, which led to a decrease in the demand of hybrid varieties and the growers used local varieties more.
The dealers fearing financial losses purchased huge quantity of local variety of seeds and transferred it to their godowns. This has created a serious shortage of seeds for the rice growers. As the growers were battling the situation, another issue, that is of water shortage, arose to coincide with the time of rice cultivation.
According to experts, in the past few years, water shortage, poor quality seeds and agri sprays, artificial fertilizers, black marketing of seeds, and a marked decrease in the prices of agri-products have been the factors responsible for the downfall of agriculture sector in interior Sindh, leaving the growers bewildered.

These tail-end areas that are linked to the unpredictable system of supply of water through canals are facing great problems. Due to lack of water in district Badin, rice couldn’t be cultivated on thousands of acres in the Kharif season.
Due to natural catastrophes and government neglect in past many years, Distrcit Badin – known for its natural gas reserves, mineral resources and sugar cane – has been facing countless problems. The district, according to an official survey, tops the list in terms of poverty. The natural resources rich district depends on agriculture and green pastures. 
According to a recent survey, the population of District Badin has exceeded 1.5 million, out of which 1 million lack access to water. The underground water up to Tando Muhammad Khan is not fit for use as it contains large quantity of arsenic. The most dangerous situation is that of the coastal belt of District Badin where hundreds of acre of land has turned into a swamp.
Growers accuse the officers of the department of irrigation of pertaining negligence because of which water doesn’t reach the tail. They said the influential landlords illegally used water meant for the growers at the tail-ends of the canals.
This situation has badly affected the growers and also reduced the production of rice and other crops at the national level. Due to water shortage in District Badin, chili and cotton weren’t cultivated on 70 per cent of the area and rice on 90 per cent of the area meant for its cultivation. Similarly, 70 per cent of the standing sugarcane crop has dried up in the district due to water shortage. The reduced cultivation of rice in lower Sindh would cause a big problem for the government in the future. Cultivation in Badin that accounts for the largest quantity of rice production in Sindh, was supposed to start in the month of April, but it still has not begin.
Though the decrease in the quantity of river water can’t be ignored, one cannot take his eye off the negligence and irresponsible role of the irrigation department. The performance of the Sindh Irrigation and Development Authority (SIDA) performance is a question mark in itself. The rice productivity is reduced by 30 to 40 per cent on average with a delay in cultivation.
After wheat and cotton, rice is the third largest crop of the country. But lack of proper planning and interest in increasing its productivity has left its growers in a difficult situation. There is a serious need of improving the water distribution system in the country to boost the agriculture sector.