overview
Looking back at Fata
A quick glance on the social and political indicators of Fata reveals that tribal agencies have turned into crisis-zones because of loss of livelihood, rising poverty, militancy, and failure of governance
By Irfan Mufti
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) of Pakistan has been in the news for a long time now and mostly for no good reasons. Debates on Fata have mostly focused on terrorism.

shortfall
Let’s face it
There’s no solution as simplistic as the ‘short term’ to bridle the galloping energy crisis
By Ather Naqvi
Acute energy shortage in the country has left government departments as well as consumers scramble for short term solutions to mitigate their hours-long agonising helplessness. The fate of the Rental Power Projects, cancelled by the Supreme Court citing massive corruption, seems to have further minimised options for policy makers.

By-product of violence
Law and order situation at the universities in Karachi should be a cause of alarm for the authorities concerned
By Dr Noman Ahmed
The on-going violence in Karachi has another side to it — violence at the universities. As if the month’s long fracas in the University of Sindh was not enough, groups of hoodlums, allegedly disguised as students, clashed in the University of Karachi. Many view the situation as continuation of an undesirable trend that is becoming difficult to regulate.

agriculture
Tunnel vision of another kind
Different agriculture farming techniques, such as tunnel farming, can increase per acre yield
By Aoun Sahi
Mian Aamir Hasnain comes from a family who has spent generations in agriculture in Mian Chanu tehsil of Khanewal district. A 40-year old, he was working as superintendent of jail in Punjab in 2006 when, on the advice of his friend, he started tunnel farming to grow off-season vegetables.
“I started using this technology on five acres of land and produced green chilies, tomatoes, cucumber and peas. I worked hard on my farm and took good care of the crop and the result was awesome. I earned such a huge profit that I resigned from my job and for the next season, started doing tunnel farming on 35 acres of my land”, he tells The News on Sunday.

Security seekers
It is important to know reasons behind the increased vulnerability of agricultural workers
By Altaf Hussain
To begin with, Pakistan is the world’s sixth most populous country with an estimated population of 177.1 million as per the statistics of 2011 and with 65pc of its population concentrated in the rural areas, whereas, 35pc is residing in the urban areas. Majority (67pc) of Pakistan’s rural populace is associated with agriculture that is a major source of their livelihood; however, they live in wilderness when it comes to access to the ambit of social security schemes.

fuel
The usual formula
There could have been other ways to increase revenue instead of increasing prices of petroleum products 
By Huzaima Bukhari and
Dr. Ikramul Haq
It seems to have become a practice now. Every month the government burdens the nation with fuel price-hike. On April 1, it announced an unprecedented raise in all petroleum products. In the wake of angry demonstrations and strong resentment shown from all quarters, the government on April 3, 2012 insubstantially reduced the prices — a miserly Rs2.32 per litre in the price of petrol, Rs1.16 per litre in high speed diesel and Rs1.74 per litre in kerosene oil. After the reduction in price, the new price of petrol was notified at Rs103.36 per litre, high speed diesel at Rs107 per litre and kerosene oil at Rs99.95 per litre — with effect from April 4, 2012. 

From waste to energy
Installation of bio-gas plants can help meet shortage of gas in rural areas
By Tahir Ali
Despite huge potential and benefits, biogas technology has not been given due attention in Pakistan. With inflation, energy shortage aggravating with each passing day, there is a renewed interest in the technology as this type of gas can be used both for cooking and power generation and its residue as fertilizer and it can also decrease domestic fuel budget, deforestation and pressure on national power grid. It can also contribute towards sustenance of ecosystem and conservation of biodiversity in the country.

 

 

 

 

 

overview
Looking back at Fata
A quick glance on the social and political indicators of Fata reveals that tribal agencies have turned into crisis-zones because of loss of livelihood, rising poverty, militancy, and failure of governance
By Irfan Mufti

 

Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) of Pakistan has been in the news for a long time now and mostly for no good reasons. Debates on Fata have mostly focused on terrorism.

This discourse has continued during the last decade or so. However, very little is known or told about the fate and miseries of the local people, facing serious consequences of the prolonged war and conflict. How is the life behind news of extremists, military operations, drones and war on terror? These questions have been largely unanswered.

A quick glance on the social indicators of Fata reveals that these tribal agencies, which already have to show poor socio-economic indicators, have turned into crisis-zones because of loss of livelihood, rising poverty, militancy, failure of governance and military action on both sides of the border.

Seven Fata agencies and six Frontier Regions are governed under a special arrangement through Federal government and a law called Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) that was first enacted by British rulers in 1848. The regulation was re-enacted in 1873 and again in 1876, with minor modifications. The 1893 unilateral demarcation of the Durand Line by the British as the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which divided Pashtun tribes across the border, caused further animosity among the Pashtun.

For more than 100 years of British rule in this region FCR kept the tribal population under its tight control. Being a draconian law in nature, its 64 articles directly clash with basic human rights charters. It denies citizens right to appeal and penalises them under collective responsibility clause. If any tribal commits any crime his whole tribe is held responsible for his wrong act and government can arrest any person of his tribe. Similarly, if a person murders anybody near someone’s house, the owner of the house will be responsible for that murder. In another blatant violation,  of the Pakistani Constitution bars any Act of Parliament in  without the consent of the  and also repeals the jurisdiction of Pakistan’s courts.

By inference, this also limits the application of fundamental rights to Fata. Tribal people believe that FCR, lack of political structures, alienation of the people, especially youth, from political discourse, poor performance of the government service delivery institutions, militancy, lack of assistance from the government for re-construction of livelihood, are some aspects of the overall governance failure responsible for people’s deprivation. 

There are other sides of life in tribal agencies that are not known to other Pakistanis. Ironically, it seems that development is systematically ignored under more ‘pressing issues’ and threats. The entire region is poorly served. The indicators of education, health, agriculture, forestry, industry, policing, etc., present a dismal picture.

Poverty has increased both in rural as well as semi urban areas in post 2001 phase. In rural areas, poverty stood at 48.7 percent in 2004-05, which increased to 56.6pc in 2005-06. The social sector indicators for Fata (health, education and water sanitation) show that the area faces acute deprivation. It stands out as the area with the worst social indicators.

Fata Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) confirms that about 3, 12,236 families are now internally displaced and forced to live in make-shift camps without proper facilities. Estimates show that about 50pc of Fata population has been displaced in the last ten years of conflict and living a miserable life in camps.

Only 30pc of its people have access to safe drinking water compared to 86pc in the rest of Pakistan. Village electrification is only 25pc compared to 75pc in the rest of the country. Infant mortality rate per 1,000 people is 113 as against national rate of 100. The situation of basic amenities and access to education is also far below the ratio of other provinces.

Groundwater is depleting rapidly. Only 25pc of the land is cultivable and productivity is low because of arid conditions.

Being home to 2.6pc of Pakistan’s population, Fata is largely impoverished and make up only 1.5pc of Pakistan’s economy. Due to the tribal arrangement, the economy is chiefly pastoral, with some agriculture practices in the region’s few fertile valleys. The population of Fata was estimated to be about 4.1 million in 2009. Only 3.2pc of this resides in established townships and the rest live in scattered and semi-structured houses and settlements.

Directorate of Fata Health Services, government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, confirmed that in 2008/09 there were only 33 hospitals and 8 rural health centers and 174 basic health units for the entire population, most of which were already without proper medical support and any services.

Condition of education is no better than other social sectors. According to government statistics of 2008, there are 4664 primary schools, 444 middle schools and 279 high schools. Most of them are either non-functional or destroyed in military operations or by militants.

The overall literacy percentage of 51pc in KPK, Fata accounts for only 26pc among males and barely 3pc among females. Now while many schools are completely destroyed by militants, the condition of the education sector has understandably become even worse. The department of education reports that 69pc children have not been back to schools and colleges after the conflict started in early 2000.

In the present circumstances, when majority of the people have lost their jobs and livelihood opportunities, poverty has increased by 70pc, highest in the entire country, and this is one of the major factors behind host of problems, including militancy. Women are practically barred from participating in the electoral process even as voters and are already an invisible population here.

Economically, the region has lowest indicators in the entire Pakistan. There are only 193 industrial units that employ 3800 workers. This figure is very low considering the population of the tribal region.

Agriculture is the main source of income for the rural population, employing 65pc of the total labour force and yielding 60pc of the gross product for the region. However, only a third of the land area is productive for agricultural or grazing purposes. Only 7pc of the cultivable area is under productive agriculture, leaving behind a vast potential of agricultural growth and livelihood security. Half the productive land area is owned by 10pc of tribal influentials while most tenants work on small farms with income below the poverty line. The imbalance has created a huge vacuum and remains as one of the biggest challenges for local governance.

The only reliable source of income for the majority of local population is livestock and that is in a bad condition. According to Pakistan Livestock census, in 2006 the total cattle in Fata were 1.43 million, 0.12 million buffaloes, 1.5 million sheep and 3.2 million goats that are providing nutrition and income source to 4 million people. This percentage is much lower than acceptable average.

According to agriculture statistics of KPK in the year 2008, the total wheat production in Fata was 144 metric ton (against the total 21749 metric ton in the rest of Pakistan) which was only 0.6pc and sugar cane production was 0.06pc of total yield in Pakistan.

In transport and communication sectors, the numbers say it all. There are only 158 post offices, no TV set reported and about 95 people have one telephone set. In terms of roads, there are only 3663 km of high type roads and 2147 km of low type roads in the entire region. This is much lower average of roads per square kilo meters than any under-developed region or territory of the world.

The predominantly patriarchal social structures are also a challenge to human development and gender equity. The rugged and inaccessible terrain, limited water resources for irrigation, large illiterate population, and status of women are added challenges to economic growth and human development.

Due to insecurity and conflict, this region lost most of the opportunities it might have had to benefit from peace, security, and social cohesion, an organized civil society and some indication of improvement in women’s social inclusion. The local population, especially educated youth, academicians, and journalists believe that existing laws governing Fata lack political inclusiveness, alienate people from political discourse, compromise the capacity of public service delivery institutions and encourage militancy.

The recently announced political, judicial, and administrative reforms for the tribal areas are welcoming signs though. These reforms allow political activities in Fata, setting up of an appellate tribunal, curtailment of arbitrary powers of political agents, give people right to appeal and bail, excluding women and children from the territorial responsibility clause and envisages audit of accounts by the auditor general. Though they are still ‘too little and too late’ but if implemented in the spirit of true reforms, they may change the fate of those 4 million citizens. These people have no role in the on-going militancy.

It should be time for the rulers and people of the country to think deep into the realities of the tribal region. The present government must implement better FCR reforms, mainstream development, invest in economic opportunities and other social development spheres if they plan to see this land stable and prosperous. Keeping this region in perpetual poverty and under-development will not help any peace efforts in the region.

 

The writer is Deputy Chief of South Asia Partnership Pakistan and Global Campaigner

irfanmufti@gmail.com

 

 

shortfall
Let’s face it
There’s no solution as simplistic as the ‘short term’ to bridle the galloping energy crisis
By Ather Naqvi

Acute energy shortage in the country has left government departments as well as consumers scramble for short term solutions to mitigate their hours-long agonising helplessness. The fate of the Rental Power Projects, cancelled by the Supreme Court citing massive corruption, seems to have further minimised options for policy makers.

With electricity shortfall reaching as high as 5000MW in peak hours, the question one naturally asks is: do we have a short term solution to come out of this crisis at the national level? Economists and critics agree that short term solutions (or ways) to end energy crisis, if there are any, are linked, one way or the other, with long term solutions.

Dr Pervez Tahir, former Chief Economist Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan believes there is no short term solution to the energy crisis, “Let’s face it. There are no short term solutions to the energy crisis. It is only possible to reduce somewhat the severity of the shortages. The Musharraf-Aziz period was a huge waste so far as the long term solutions are concerned.”

Tahir does not approve of what the present government is doing to solve the problem and criticizes the opposition for coming up with an alternative, “The present regime persists with the neglect. As is evident from the seminars organised by the PML-N and PTI, the opposition has failed to offer alternatives. For the short run, the ruling alliance did have some ideas to begin with, but the shoddiness of its governance came in the way.”

He points out energy conservation, including stopping theft and line losses, as very useful for saving energy, “Pakistan uses more energy to produce a dollar of GDP than the countries at a comparable level of development. A sensible energy conservation policy can easily save more than a thousand megawatts. Overcoming theft and system losses can add some more. But conservation and efficiency have never been the first love of the decision makers.”

Tahir points to another solution, “Supply could have been augmented either by fully utilising the capacity of the IPPs or rental power or a mix of the two. The government went for the rental power. No project is done without making money on the side. Problems occur when the sponsors are caught. The process stalled as soon as it started, delivering negligible power. As the regime could not do what it wanted to do in the first place, the attempts to augment supply by using the surplus capacity of the IPPs have been half-hearted. Hence the unending cycle of circular debt. Remember the now loved surplus capacity of the IPPs had no love lost when it was being created. With oil price rising, and no desire to conserve and economize, there is no end in sight.”

S Akbar Zaidi, senior economist, believes solutions are complicated and the US is a big hindrance in going for those solutions, “There is agreement that the power crisis is probably Pakistan’s biggest crisis at the moment. The government thinks so, the public and business community agree and even the Americans think so. Ambassador Robin Raphel of the US Department of State and previously a senior representative of the US Government in Islamabad, stated recently that the energy crisis is one of Pakistan’s most serious and her government through USAID was giving it ‘top priority’. However, the solutions are critically complicated, and the US is a major hindrance to immediate solutions.”

Zaidi sees the issue in its broader context, “There is little doubt that the power crisis in Pakistan, which has had economic consequences for some years, is now becoming a political crisis as well. There are a number of reasons why the crisis exists, and include the high and increasing global price of oil, the fact that the government of Pakistan extracts revenue from the domestic prices, that there is a major loss of revenue due to leakages in the system and there is excessive theft of what is eventually produced.”

Zaidi believes Pakistan buying Iranian gas and oil could have been an immediate solution to the crisis, “If Pakistan had an independent foreign policy, not one dominated and dictated by the US, it could have bought Iranian gas and oil. This is not about the longer term prospects of an Iranian-Pakistan-Indian pipeline, but an immediate response to the current problems. Even though the US has imposed sanctions on doing business with Iran, both China and India, the two largest importers of Iranian oil, and eight other countries, have decided to continue to buy Iranian oil because they need it. Pakistan just does not have the guts or the political independence to do so. This option is the fastest and perhaps cheapest way to solve the energy crisis.”

He also points to other likely options, “Other options include decreasing the revenue which the government collects from selling petrol, but with the fiscal deficit way off target, this looks unlikely. Similarly, chasing and reprimanding bijli-chores has not been very effective in the past. Raising revenue to meet the circular debt is another option, but certainly not one which will be introduced in an election year, if ever.” Zaidi links policy options with an independent foreign policy, “There are numerous reasons why Pakistan needs an independent foreign policy. The power crisis just became another one.” 

According to an independent economist, who does not want to be identified, “The main short term issue revolves around the circular debt. Circular debt emerges when the electricity generating companies (GENCOS) are not paid by PEPCO, which in turn is not paid by the distribution companies (DISCOS) of the amount due from selling electricity based on the NEPRA determined tariff.”

He suggests ways to reduce the circular debt, “We are told that the circular debt right now is in the range of Rs350 billion. There are two ways that the circular debt can be reduced in the short to medium term.

1. The Federal and Provincial governments are defaulters of DISCOS to the tune of approximately Rs106 billion. Apart from paying its own dues due to the DISCOS, the federal government should deduct at source transfers from the divisible pool that is due to the provinces. Some of the provinces have already acquired a stay from the courts on a certain amount of dues they owe. They may do it again. But recovery on the remainder of the amount can still be substantial (Rs. 50 billion plus), which will ease the constraint somewhat. Moreover, if the courts provide stays provincial dues then the onus is on the judiciary to resolve the circular debt issue.

2. The other imperative is that the DISCOS are made more accountable. As of now, the DISCOS enjoy what economists call a ‘soft budget constraint.’ This means that even if they do not collect revenues for the electricity they sell, the government makes up for their losses. This is because the management is only accountable, in essence, to PEPCO. The umbilical chord with PEPCO has to be broken and the management of DISCOS have to be made fully accountable to the Board of Directors, including powers to hire and fire. The Board in turn should be fully accountable to government. Also, the rules of business for the DISCOS need to be changed in order to create the right incentives for collection of revenues and to reduce losses. These are necessary but not sufficient conditions to improved revenues and reduce theft. For that to happen, the local administration, especially the police and the political parties of respective areas have to cooperate.    

3. Even if all theft is finished and government pays up, there will still be a substantial subsidy that the government will have to pay as the cost of electricity generation is substantially higher than the price at which it is sold. So unless the mix of energy does not change (which it only will in the long run, say 8-10 years with hydel and coal coming on board) prices will have to be increased as this level of subsidization is neither feasible nor desirable.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

By-product of violence
Law and order situation at the universities in Karachi should be a cause of alarm for the authorities concerned
By Dr Noman Ahmed

The on-going violence in Karachi has another side to it — violence at the universities. As if the month’s long fracas in the University of Sindh was not enough, groups of hoodlums, allegedly disguised as students, clashed in the University of Karachi. Many view the situation as continuation of an undesirable trend that is becoming difficult to regulate.

Not long ago, a teacher on the invigilation duty at the University of Karachi was severely thrashed by a pack of rowdy candidates when he resisted an attempt of cheating in the B.Com examination.

Around the same time, a student group at Shah Abdul Latif University at Khairpur created a brawl over a trivial issue that resulted in the immediate closure of the campus. The students, campus staff and faculty members have been subjected to distressing anxiety due to rising influence of forced intruders who go scot-free after committing odious crimes of attacking their pre-determined opponents and all who come in their way.

It is reported that respective university managements attempted to respond to the situations, though with little success. A far reaching improvement can only be expected when well directed, objective and administratively potent actions would be undertaken.

It is writing on the wall. Student factions of various political parties or other forms of student organisations have access to arms and armed men. The core reason is the existence of a pro-weapon culture and lack of intention of the establishment to curb it.

Young people are prone to agitation even for petty demands or at the behest of outside political actors. Therefore, they resort to acts of violence which often flare up into pitched battles. Settling differences of opinions and short scale disputes is seldom done through debates, dialogue or discussion.

It is a common observation that the vested interests tend to plant their activists under the guise of students. It is relatively easy in the universities as compared to professional institutions. Whereas every public university has statutes, rules and regulations related to maintain order, they are seldom applied.

The normal administrative orders are also not enforced with strictness as required in the prevailing situation. An errant student, who was debarred to enter a campus in Karachi after rustication from the same, not only managed to sneak into the premises but also pounced on his alleged opponents with impunity. It is reported that the demi-political factions and interest groups are taking advantage of the fact that national elections are nearing and provincial administration is occupied in related duties.

The university managements have their security and watch-and-ward personnel responsible for maintaining the normal peace at the campus. Support of Rangers is also extended to prevent any untoward happening. It appears that the administrative approach applied by several campus managements is half-hearted and devoid of effectiveness.

It must be remembered that campus security cannot be ensured without the planned, willing and active participation of all stakeholders. The foremost responsibility rests upon the shoulders of university management itself. After an independent assessment of each incidence of violence, they must fix the responsibility and take corrective actions.

If a student or his accomplices are found involved in inflicting damage upon university property, mistreating faculty, staff or other students, necessary punishment must be given according to the statutes. But such actions must be initiated across the board. No disciplinary measure shall prove fruitful if administrators resort to take sides or buckle down under the pressure of ruffian brigades.

Regular checking of hostels and common rooms, monitoring of entry and exit points, training of watch-and-ward personnel, proper deployment and patrolling, timely coordination with personnel of law enforcement agencies and seeking support of students through appropriate channels are some common practices that may help improve the conditions.

Every teaching department may be asked to appoint a suitable faculty member as a focal person to observe the standard operating procedures for maintaining security.

For ensuring long-lasting peace at campuses, the government should ponder over devising a code of conduct through consensus and finding the middle ground with all stakeholders. Representatives of the chancellor and university managements, student bodies, law enforcement agencies and provincial government and security experts can be invited to draft document agreeable to all participants.

Thereafter, approvals from the respective university syndicates should be sought to transform it into a binding instrument. It may be noted that similar proposals were voiced by many academics in the past without much actions taken as follow up. Unless a dependable mechanism is put in place in all the campuses, improvement in educational standards will remain a pipedream.

 

 

 

 

 

agriculture
Tunnel vision of another kind
Different agriculture farming techniques, such as tunnel farming, can increase per acre yield
By Aoun Sahi

Mian Aamir Hasnain comes from a family who has spent generations in agriculture in Mian Chanu tehsil of Khanewal district. A 40-year old, he was working as superintendent of jail in Punjab in 2006 when, on the advice of his friend, he started tunnel farming to grow off-season vegetables.

“I started using this technology on five acres of land and produced green chilies, tomatoes, cucumber and peas. I worked hard on my farm and took good care of the crop and the result was awesome. I earned such a huge profit that I resigned from my job and for the next season, started doing tunnel farming on 35 acres of my land”, he tells The News on Sunday.

Tunnel farming is a latest form of growing off-season vegetables in severe winter when it is not possible to cultivate crops in open fields due to low temperature and frost. In this form of cultivation, plastic sheets are used to cover the field as well as spread on the soil to save crop from frost and to control temperature inside the tunnel which helps normal growth of the plants even in severe winter season.

It helps farmers to produce vegetables 45 to 60 days before the actual season which can fetch them good rates of their produce. This farming technique, only a few decades old, was introduced in Pakistan in the late 1990s in Punjab province. The government took ownership of this farming technique in 2002-03 for the first time when Punjab government started four adaptive research farms in Sheikhupura, Chakwal, and Vehari districts to demonstrate the techniques to farmers.

“Three types of tunnels — low (3 feet high), walk (6-8 feet high) and high (12-15 feet high) — are used in Pakistan while iron rods or bamboos are used to erect them in the fields. Tunnel set up with metal rods are two to three times expensive than the bamboos one but their lifespan is 3-4 time greater than the one made of bamboos. A metal rod low tunnel cost Rs75,000 per acre, the walk type cost around 200,000 thousands while high tunnel for one acre costs around Rs 1.2 million”, says Aamir Hasnain.

He thinks that one can easily earn around Rs250,000 per acre from low tunnel technique while the amount can easily reach to Rs500,000 for walk and Rs700,000 for high tunnel. “But, it needs exceptional hard work and monitoring of crop and regular use of fertilizers to get good produce. It is also a very good source of jobs in rural areas as extensive human resource is needed to take care of the crops in tunnel farming and to pluck them. “This year I am hoping to get very good profit as we had worst frost in Punjab in this winter during the last one decade”, he says.

But he is not happy, “So far, the government has not been doing much to support this farm of farming. Yes, it has introduced some pilot projects in some districts but the thing they need to do is to introduce the technology that can increase the shelf life of vegetables,” he says, adding, “This technology is very much available as modern countries have been using it to increase shelf life of vegetables up to 10-15 days from one day. The government should import this technology. It will help to exploit the real potential of Pakistan in tunnel farming.” He says that this form of farming also helps soil a lot as only one crop is produced in one year while it remains vacant almost for six months from May to October.

Dr Muhammad Anjum Ali, director general extension and adaptive research department of Agriculture, Lahore, says that his department is trying its best to promote tunnel farming throughout province. “In 2003, we introduced a pilot project only on four adaptive farms while in 2008 Punjab government introduced a project ‘promotion of tunnel technology for vegetable production’ worth Rs526.1 million for three years. Under this project we provided free tunnel technology to 197 farmers in the province and also trained farmers for six months to use the technology.”

He gives some relevant figures, “In 2000, only a few farmers were using this technology as the area under cultivation of tunnel farming was not more than 250 acre throughout the country while now the technology is being used on more than 50,000 acres of land only in Punjab. The government has also been working on a project to bring the technology for increasing shelf life of vegetables. We also need to adopt farmers’ centric approach to develop latest technologies and approaches to get maximum profit out of our produce”, he says.

Agriculture experts believe that so far the government has taken no concrete step to invest in tunnel farming techniques in the country. “We have a greater potential in tunnel farming. It is true that the shelf life of vegetables can increase up to 40 days,” says Muhammad Irfan Ashraf, a leading tunnel farming expert and lecturer at faculty of agriculture at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. “We have been doing a lot of research on increasing shelf life of vegetables and fruits. Last year, we stored mangoes for 40 days. Vegetables can also be stored for the same time period”, he says adding, “With the introduction of tunnel farming to half of this area can help Pakistan export fresh off-season vegetables to Middle East and Central Asia.”

 

 

 

Security seekers
It is important to know reasons behind the increased vulnerability of agricultural workers
By Altaf Hussain

To begin with, Pakistan is the world’s sixth most populous country with an estimated population of 177.1 million as per the statistics of 2011 and with 65pc of its population concentrated in the rural areas, whereas, 35pc is residing in the urban areas. Majority (67pc) of Pakistan’s rural populace is associated with agriculture that is a major source of their livelihood; however, they live in wilderness when it comes to access to the ambit of social security schemes.

The land holding pattern is of highly skewed nature, i,e, in Pakistan 58pc of the 6.6 million rural landowners have less then 5 acres of agricultural land, and only 3pc women having their own agricultural land, while, 6pc possess 80pc of agricultural land. It is evident from this fact that a majority of rural souls serve as peasants or wage workers.

The very nature of agriculture being informal (no Industrial Relations Act or Ordinance applies on it) has pushed agriculture workers into the quagmire where they do not receive fair wages (Rs30 per day in some areas). They face harassment and lack of access to shelter and dearth of crop insurance, have no record keeping, no right to form a union, are suppressed under debt and bondage, also soaring prices of pesticides and fertilizers and fluctuating rates of agricultural commodities perpetuate miseries of the agricultural workers ( sharecroppers and wage workers).

In addition, social indicators paint a grim picture of basic amenities of life available to the people in Pakistan. According these indicators, 38pc population (65 million out of 177.1 million) are living below the poverty line, inflation rate is 14.1pc, health facilities are meager for the common people (one doctor against 1, 300 people and one hospital bed for 1701 people), education, 57.7pc (27.9 million out of 70 million children of school going age are out of schools) suggest that unavailability of basic facilities to the large chunk of population is obvious.

Social security is defined as being composed of contribution-based social insurance schemes and tax-financed social assistance. In their most comprehensive forms, social security systems aim at providing nine types of benefit, namely, medical care, sickness and maternity benefits, family benefits, unemployment benefits, employment injury, invalidity and survivors’ benefits, and old age benefits. No peasant is legally entitled to avail the benefits of social security schemes such as Employees Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) and Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) in Pakistan.

The great paradox of the time is that the social security which has been regarded as extremely vital instrument in building just and welfare societies has been a far cry in Pakistan for the informal sector mainly agriculture workers. Only 0.18pc of GDP is allocated to social security in the country that also only for formal (industrial) sector labour force. Further disappointing factor is that agriculture, which is largest contributing sector in Pakistan’s GDP, has been regarded as informal sector, thus keeping it completely out of the realm of social security.

It is important to note reasons behind the increased vulnerabilities of agricultural workers depriving them of social security, first and foremost being state has been apathetic in extending to its citizens their rights enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan. The Article 38 (a) of the Constitution, which clearly obligates the state that “The State shall secure the well-being of the people, irrespective of sex, caste, creed or race, by raising their standard of living, by preventing the concentration of wealth and means of production and distribution in the hands of a few to the detriment of general interest and by ensuring equitable adjustment of rights between employers and employees, and landlords and tenants.” Also, Pakistan has been giving a cold shoulder to the ILO Conventions, including other international obligations on the subject.

The feudal-cum-military and bureaucratic nexus has been at the centre stage to stop any move against the prevailing system of injustice and deprivation of people connected with agriculture labour.

Lack of land reforms in the country has also resulted in the persistent suppression of agricultural workers at the hands of feudals who entered power echelons and have succeeded in perpetuating their hold on the electoral system. They also block the way of available laws (Tenancy Acts & Bonded Labour Abolition Act, 1992) from implementation.

In order to eliminate intricacies of the agricultural workers government need to revisit its policies based on exclusion and formulate policies which ensure the rights and entitlements (exclusively right to social security) of the agricultural workers. In the aftermaths of 18th Amendment labour has also become provincial subject and provincial governments have to regulate labour laws through their respective IRAs. In this connection, provincial governments should legislate for bringing agriculture workers in the ambit of workers which would help them avail themselves of the social security scheme.

Unless agriculture is brought under formal labour mechanism and agriculture workers are provided social security benefits, problems of agriculture workers will keep haunting them. Debt of agriculture workers should be paid by the government, including ensuring implementation of available laws and extending them facilities to cultivate the lands.

 

The writer is Researcher at Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER)

 

 

 

   

fuel
The usual formula
There could have been other ways to increase revenue instead of increasing prices of petroleum products 
By Huzaima Bukhari and
Dr. Ikramul Haq

It seems to have become a practice now. Every month the government burdens the nation with fuel price-hike. On April 1, it announced an unprecedented raise in all petroleum products. In the wake of angry demonstrations and strong resentment shown from all quarters, the government on April 3, 2012 insubstantially reduced the prices — a miserly Rs2.32 per litre in the price of petrol, Rs1.16 per litre in high speed diesel and Rs1.74 per litre in kerosene oil. After the reduction in price, the new price of petrol was notified at Rs103.36 per litre, high speed diesel at Rs107 per litre and kerosene oil at Rs99.95 per litre — with effect from April 4, 2012.

On the same day in 2011, a similar hike was announced and the Prime Minister had the cheek to claim, “The government has nothing to do with it (prices), these are fixed by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA)”. The government conveniently absolves itself from price increase in petroleum products laying the blame on international market. This is not the whole truth or valid excuse for dropping continuous petrol bombs on the masses, especially when the taxes and levies constitute between 44-55pc of the price per litre of various products. Every price hike in petroleum products brings more taxes for government to show artificial growth of 25pc in collection.

After all, what are the perplexities of this extremely fluctuating nature of petroleum price rigmarole that leaves the common man stripped of his earnings, increases inflation to a non-receding position, and renders the lives of the poor vulnerable, but despite all these, brings in huge profits to the petroleum companies and revenues in trillions for the government (per Rana Bhagwandas Commission Report on Petroleum Prices dated July 9, 2009 submitted to Supreme Court of Pakistan). One needs to explore the factors behind this recurrent shockwave of fiscal terror on the nation.

It is incontrovertible fact that the main beneficiaries of price rises are a few oil companies and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). FBR, in its latest report, has admitted that “the petroleum is the leading contributor of sales tax domestic collection. The overall collection of sales tax domestic depends on the collection of petroleum products as it contributes around 43pc of the sales tax domestic. The growth is mainly attributable to increased taxable sales of petroleum products by 37.6pc”.

This is the story of “exceptional growth” in revenue collection of FBR, about which Premier Yousaf Raza Gilani and his economic adviser Abdul Hafeez Shaikh are proud of. They seem to be least concerned if this move pushes millions of Pakistanis below the poverty line, destroys the economy and creates unrest in the society. The share of government taxes and levies in petroleum prices is more than 50pc from the stage of importation to final ex-refinery supply point.

Taxes constitute a major part of the price of every petroleum product — consumed by the public for personal and business purposes. During the fiscal year 2010-2011, FBR collected total sales tax of Rs633 billion out of which share of POL products alone was Rs263.821 billion (on import Rs110.54 billion and on domestic supply Rs153.28 billion). The figure for July 2011 to December 2011 of the current fiscal year is Rs148.9 billion. In the report submitted to Supreme Court by Rana Bhagwandas Commission dated July 10, 2009, it was revealed that from 2002 to 2009, the government made Rs10.23 trillion in taxes on petroleum products.

It is regrettable that we have failed to provide mass transit facility for at least 2 large cities — Karachi and Lahore — and bus service for every city and town despite burdening citizens with all kinds of taxes. On the contrary, consumer loans were vastly disbursed under Musharraf-Shaukat era, inducing purchase of vehicles resulting in enormous profits both for the petroleum companies and car manufacturers.

The real sufferer is the common man who cannot afford personal transport. More and more cars on the roads cause pollution, traffic mayhem and are the main source of increase in our oil import bill. From July 2011 to February 2012, our crude oil imports surged to US$          3.85 billion, compared with US$ 2.49 billion in the corresponding period of the preceding year. In order to cut the import bill, we need improve public transport system that can solve all the prevalent problems. The challenge before us is to build good public transport system and a clean energy economy.

Today, we export billions of dollars each year to import the energy we need to power our country with. Our dependence on foreign oil threatens our national security, our environment and our economy. We must make investments in clean energy sources that will create millions of new jobs and lay the foundation for long-term economic security.

Our rulers follow United States in most of the matters, where their personal interests are involved, but not in areas where public welfare can be achieved. In recent months, the US made great strides toward changing energy future. The US Recovery Act constituted an unprecedented and historic investment in the clean energy economy. Our government must realise that investments in the development of renewable energy and clean technologies can lead to energy sources of the future. We have destroyed our rail system — depriving the poor and business houses of cheap and efficient transportation mode — while other countries are making huge investments in high speed rail and advanced car batteries, considered as transportation systems of the future.

It is sad that the government is using higher taxes on petroleum products as means to reduce its fiscal deficit, without realising that price hikes in these items affect economy as a whole, retard growth in all sectors besides accelerating inflation. Our tax system benefits the wealthy at the expense of the overwhelming majority of poor Pakistanis. The government, instead of restoring equity in the tax system — reducing corporate tax rates and increase taxes on the rich — is using price-hike in petroleum products as a means to collect more taxes, thus extending extraordinary benefits to a few powerful oil companies and making life of 95 percent of the people miserable. By plugging loopholes that prevent wealthy companies and individuals from paying a fair share of taxes, the government can generate enough revenues through levy of excess profit tax to build public transport system that would save billions that we mercilessly spend on import of crude oil.

 

The writers, tax lawyers, are visiting professors at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

 

 

 

 

From waste to energy
Installation of bio-gas plants can help meet shortage of gas in rural areas
By Tahir Ali

Despite huge potential and benefits, biogas technology has not been given due attention in Pakistan. With inflation, energy shortage aggravating with each passing day, there is a renewed interest in the technology as this type of gas can be used both for cooking and power generation and its residue as fertilizer and it can also decrease domestic fuel budget, deforestation and pressure on national power grid. It can also contribute towards sustenance of ecosystem and conservation of biodiversity in the country.

Over 4000 biogas plants were installed in Pakistan by the government between 1974 and 1987. But later, it withdrew the financial support which reduced the growth rate of this technology. Only 6,000 plants were installed till 2006. But the potential is even bigger.

There are currently around 47 million big animals in Pakistan. A medium size animal produces around 10 kg of dung per day. Even if its 50 percent is collected, the availability of dung comes to 233 million kg a day that can produce around 12 million cubic meters of biogas a day. Estimates say since 0.4m gas could suffice the cooking needs of a million Pakistanis, the fuel requirement of over 20 percent of them could be met only from biogas. It will also produce 19 million tons of bio-fertilizer per year, which can boost agricultural productivity.

Biogas plants are popular in Pakistan’s neighbourhood and even developed countries. There are almost two million bio-gas plants in India and the facilities have been built even in UK and US through official patronage. Around 89 such plants in the US are consuming 13 per cent or 95000 tons of waste to produce about 2500 mega watt of electricity that suffices for 2.3mn households.

In Nepal, where around 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas with no electricity, over the past 20 years, the biogas sector partnership, an NGO, has installed around 210,000 biogas plants to provide biogas for cooking and lighting. Each plant is estimated to have reduced Nepal’s carbon emissions by around 4.7 tonnes a year.

According to a United Nations report, cattle are responsible for 18 percent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming — more than cars, planes, and all other forms of transportation put together. Their environmental impact could be minimised by converting their manure into a renewable source of energy.

The environmental protection agency (EPA) estimates that cattle emit about 5.5 million metric tons of powerful greenhouse gas, methane, per year into the atmosphere. The University of Texas, Austin, estimates that by using around one billion tonnes of manure produced annually in the United States for power/gas generation could also help eliminate 99 million tonnes of net greenhouse gas emissions there.

As per Pakistan Centre for Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET) report, a family size biogas plant annually produces energy equivalent to 10056Kg wood, 22200 Kg animal dung, 1104 lit kerosene oil, 540 kg L.P.G or 9000 Kwh of electricity.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa too, despite having one million camels, 6mn cattle, 2mn buffaloes and over 12mn sheep and goats, has failed to utilise the waste of these animals for launching of bio gas plants on a big scale.

In the cattle breeding and dairy farm in Charsadda, a bio gas plant has been in operation but the innovative technology has not been disseminated on a mass scale in the province.

Under the project “development and promotion of biogas technology for meeting domestic fuel needs of rural areas and production of bio-fertilizer”, PCRET plans to install 368 biogas plants in rural areas of the country by June this year.  

The government of Italy in November last year decided to provide Rs50 million to set up 436 biogas plants in six districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Abbottabad, Haripur and Mansehra.

Launched in 2008 with a target of 2500 such plants, PCRET has already installed over 2100 family size biogas plants in different parts of the country.

Earlier, based on a feasibility study, a programme implementation plan for domestic biogas of Pakistan was finalised with the support of rural support programmes network, NGOs and farmers’ organisations and is implemented by Pakistan biogas development enterprise. The construction of 30,000 biogas installations in 4 years will be supported in four provinces, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a total investment of Rs2.7bn. Rs244mn would be disbursed as investment rebate support to the households who spend on the technology.

However, the potential is too enormous to be satisfied with this number. Animal waste is usually wasted. In Landhi Karachi alone, around 0.35mn cattle-heads are kept in a 3km area that produce thousands of tons of waste but 80-90 of it is thrown in the sea. A Canadian firm Highmark Renewables with the help of KESC plans to establish world’s biggest biogas plant at a cost of around $70 million that would produce up to 30 mega watt of power and 400 tons of residue bio fertiliser.

 

Some more facts

Any farmer having at least three animals can establish this plant with a one-time investment of Rs40,000 to 50,000

Gas produced in a small bio-digester which contains about 20 kg of dung should be enough to meet the fuel requirement of a small family. Based on these calculations, a bio-digester for any number of animals can be designed. However, the plant must be water/gas-tight. Enough manure and water must be added to it every day.

Firewood, dung and crop residues are major sources of energy for rural and low-income urban households. In 1992, firewood provided fuel to about 60 percent of rural and low income families followed by dung in dry form at around 18pc.

Only 4pc of Pakistan’s total area is covered by forest with only 5pc area protected. To control deforestation, adoption of biogas is the best technology and option in Pakistan.

It seems strange as to why biogas plants have not been installed to reduce the speed and scale of deforestation, especially in the forest-rich Malakand and Hazara divisions. 

Around 70 percent population in KP lives in the rural areas. Most farmers have two or more cattle whose dung mixed with an equal proportion of water can be used to produce biogas. Any farmer having at least three animals can establish this plant with a one-time investment of Rs40,000 to 50,000.

If individual farmers are not ready or cannot afford the expenses, a few families with domestic animals could jointly install such a plant in their neighbourhood. And by selling the gas to families that cannot contribute manure daily for having no animals, the maintenance expenditure, if any, could be financed with this money.

The government needs to give more attention and funds to spread this technology to the countryside. Media should also create awareness among the rural community and NGOs and foreign investors should be encouraged to spread it.

A typical biogas plant consists of a digester where the anaerobic fermentation takes place, a gasholder for collecting the biogas, the input-output units for feeding the influent and storing the effluent respectively, and a gas distribution system.

 

— Tahir Ali

 

 

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