The Government of Sindh must urgently come up with measures to improve land tenancy to ensure the end of bonded labour. Drawing on fieldwork from the region, Abdul Waheed Jamali explores the plight of bonded labourers and the failures of the current Sindh Tenancy Act

Waheed Jamali, Abdul

LSE Research Online

Failures	of	land	tenancy	in	PakistanThe	Government	of	Sindh	must	urgently	come	up	with	measures	to	improve	land	tenancy	to	ensure	theend	of	bonded	labour.	Drawing	on	fieldwork	from	the	region,	Abdul	Waheed	Jamali	explores	the	plightof	bonded	labourers	and	the	failures	of	the	current	Sindh	Tenancy	Act.Three	camps	for	former	bonded	labourers	have	been	established	near	Hyderabad,	the	second	largestcity	of	Sindh	province	of	Pakistan	and	around	200km	north	of	Pakistan’s	coastal	city	of	Karachi.	Thesecamps	have	been	established	by	local	NGOs	with	the	support	of	international	aid	agencies	and	Governmentauthorities	for	the	families	to	live	there	freely	once	they	were	freed	through	the	Court	order	under	The	Sindh	BondedLabour	System	(Abolition)	Act.We	managed	our	visit	at	one	of	the	camps,	namely	Azad	Nagar;	which	means	‘land	of	the	free’.	Approximately	100families	are	living	in	the	Azad	Nagar	Camp	located	at	Tando	Hyder.	Whilst	they	are	no	longer	bonded,	they	areunable	to	feed	themselves	and	their	children	more	than	twice	a	day,	and	are	also	socially	isolated	and	economicallypoor.	Originally	these	families	belong	to	the	indigenous	tribes	of	Sindh	province	and	they	were	previouslysharecroppers.	What	made	them	vulnerable	and	why	they	were	bonded?This	article	is	an	attempt	to	illustrate	the	reason	of	bonded	labour	in	the	agricultural	sector.	There	are	various	reportson	bonded	labour,	landlessness	and	poverty	in	Sindh,	most	of	them	reveal	that	more	than	75	per	cent	of	Pakistan’spoor	live	in	rural	areas.	The	distribution	of	assets	in	rural	areas	is	highly	skewed,	particularly	with	regard	to	access	toland	and	water.	This	has	resulted	in	high	chronic	rural	poverty,	which	has	grown	in	recent	years	due	to	slowagricultural	growth	as	well	as	the	damage	and	losses	to	crops	and	livestock	caused	by	natural	disasters	over	thepast	decade.But	tenants	and	land	rights	experts	consider	that	bonded	labour	in	agriculture	is	a	failure	of	tenure	and	these	campsare	the	examples	of	the	failures	of	The	Sindh	Tenancy	Act	(STA),	1950	and	its	subsequent	amendments	(the	mostrecent	of	which	was	2008-2013)	which	regulate	the	individual	relationship	between	landowner	and	tenant	and	theirsharecropping	arrangements	and	establishes	the	rights	and	obligations	of	each	party;	while	the	administrativeregulations	at	the	district	level	dictate	how	the	different	service	providers	should	engage	with	them.Mr.	Tanveer	Arif	Chief	Executive	Officer	of	SCOPE	explained	that	landlessness	and	poor	tenure	arrangements	arereasons	behind	the	bonded	labour	in	the	agricultural	sector.	According	to	Arif,	the	provisions	of	STA	have	not	beensystematically	implemented,	leading	to	a	system	where	the	individual	landholdings	operate	in	isolation.	At	the	sametime,	many	of	its	provisions	are	no	longer	appropriate	to	address	contemporary	issues,	due	to	the	socio-economicchanges	that	have	occurred	since	its	promulgation.An	interview	was	also	conducted	with	tenancy	veteran	and	senior	peasants’	rights	leader	Mr.	Taj	Mari.	Mr	Tajemphasised	that	the	Sindh	Tenancy	Act	(STA)	1950	was	not	amended	to	address	big	lacunas	and	problems,	whichwere	a	cause	of	injustice	for	peasants	in	their	relationship	with	landlords.	He	lamented	that	Sindh’s	political,	socialand	administrative	structure	was	controlled	by	feudal	and	landlord	families;	thus,	pro-peasant	amendments	in	thelaws	were	not	possible.	Therefore	in	the	past,	all	attempts	made	to	improve	the	tenants’	conditions	through	landreforms	and	redistribution	have	fallen	short,	mainly	due	to	the	lack	of	political	will.South Asia @ LSE: Failures of land tenancy in Pakistan Page 1 of 2		Date originally posted: 2018-02-21Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/02/21/failures-of-land-tenancy-in-pakistan/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/Farmers	begin	sowing	season	in	Handarap	valley,	Pakistan.	Image	credit:	Sanam	Mir	Ghazi,	CC	SA-BY	3.0Dr.	Ghulam	Haider	Malokhani	Executive	Director	of	local	NGO	Green	Rural	Development	Organization	(GRDWO)who	arranged	the	visit	to	Azad	Nagar	bonded	labour	camp	presented	the	challenges	related	to	the	Sindh	TenancyAct.	Dr.	Haider	said	that	the	landlords	keep	the	accounts,	transactions	are	rarely	transparent,	and	landlords	oftenover-value	inputs	and	under-value	outputs.	Tenure	contracts	tend	to	be	oral,	with	a	minimum	contract	period	of	oneyear.	In	this	way,	sharecropper’s	extremely	low	literacy	rate	inhibits	their	control	over	any	entities.	Tenants	fall	intodebt	through	advances	they	receive	from	the	landlords	in	cash	or	in	kind	to	meet	costs	of	cultivation	or	simply	tocover	regular	household	consumption	requirements.	The	expectation	is	that	the	account	is	settled	at	the	time	of	theharvest,	but	in	reality	the	debt	accumulates	from	one	year	to	the	next	as	the	share	of	the	production	is	not	enough	tosurvive,	let	alone	pay	off	the	loans.	Dr.	Haider	also	said	that	tenants	are	not	allowed	to	leave	their	landlord	unlessthey	clear	their	accumulated	debt,	and	therefore	become	“bonded”	labour.As	well	as	fieldwork,	a	literature	review	was	also	conducted	which	revealed	that	most	of	the	peasants	lack	clear	andlegally	enforceable	tenure	over	their	farmland	upon	which	their	livelihoods	depend,	leaving	them	vulnerable	topoverty	and	exploitation.	The	existing	sharecropping	tenancy	system	is	historically	deep-rooted	and	perpetuates	thedeeply	entrenched	poverty	of	tenants	and	farm	labour	through	unbalanced	revenue-sharing	and	cost-sharingarrangements	and	a	complex	system	of	dependencies.Therefore;	it	is	highly	recommended	to	the	Government	of	Sindh	that	they	urgently	come	up	with	improved	landtenancy	in	Sindh.	Because	responsible	governance	of	tenure	ensures	secure	access	to	land	and	water,	in	particularfor	female	and	male	smallholder	farmers.	Pro	farmer	amendments	in	Sindh	Tenancy	Act	and	their	properimplementation	are	in	need	for	pro-poor	agricultural	development	and	the	sustainable	management	of	naturalresources	with	a	positive	impact	on	environment	biological	diversity.	This	would	also	contribute	to	the	overall	aim	ofimproving	food	and	nutrition	security,	which	are	key	development	objectives	of	international	community	andGovernment	of	Pakistan	for	fulfilling	the	commitment	for	achieving	the	Sustainable	Development	Goals	and	align	theSTA	with	the	Voluntary	Guidelines	on	the	Responsible	Governance	of	Tenure	of	Land,	Fisheries	and	Forests.This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	South	Asia	@	LSE	blog,	nor	of	the	LondonSchool	of	Economics.	Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	posting.About	the	AuthorAbdul	Waheed	Jamali	is	a	development	professional	with	15	years	of	experience	in	projects	relating	toland	management,	agrarian	reforms,	sustainable	agriculture,	right	to	food,	land	and	natural	resources.	He	holds	a	Masters	degree	in	Sociology.	He	can	be	reached	at	waheedjamali@hotmail.comSouth Asia @ LSE: Failures of land tenancy in Pakistan Page 2 of 2		Date originally posted: 2018-02-21Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/02/21/failures-of-land-tenancy-in-pakistan/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/

Failures of land tenancy in Pakistan

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Failures of land tenancy in Pakistan

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