Climate Change
36088 acres standing wheat crop in the province fully damaged due to erratic weather, says CRS
Javed Khan
PESHAWAR
The recent spell of rains and hailstorm has damaged standing wheat crop grown over more than 36000 acres, which makes up 7.4 percent of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s entire wheat production.
According to the provincial agriculture department’s Crops Reporting Services (CRS), about 36088 acres of wheat crop out of a total 1.9 million acres has been impacted by the erratic weather.
As per details, the assessment of damaged crops was carried out from March 22 to April 1.
The CRS statistics show there will be an average 7.14 percent, over 100,000 tons, lost in the output of the staple food.
Last season, 12 percent of wheat crop in the province was lost due to disruption in weather, it stated.
This year, as per agriculture department data, KP had sown wheat over 1.93 million acres and the expected production estimated before the rainfall was 1.40 million tons.
However, due ‘hailstorm, wind, and rainfall’ in the last week of March decreased the prospects of a bumper crop expected to yield 1.30 million tons, CRS noted.
Wheat is a basic staple and food security crop and its production also has a major impact on household food security in the province.
According to Pakistan Agriculture Capacity Enhancement Program (PACE), the percentage share of KP in national wheat output accounts to nearly four percent.
Wheat is one of the major Rabi cereal crops of KP which requires cool temperatures during its growing season and bright sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures in harvesting period.
The major producing districts of the province included Swat, Mansehra, D.I khan, Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi, Peshawar and Buner.
Swat contributed 10 percent in provincial wheat output while Mansehra, D.I khan and Bunir had a percentage share of six percent each with Mardan, Swabi, Charsadda and Peshawar contributing seven percent each in total provincial production.
However, as a result of weather disruption, which weather experts attribute to global climate change, disappointed many wheat growers and farmers.
Ahmad Khan, a 45-year-old farmer in district Mardan, said; “repeated crop failures due to erratic rains have forced me to turn away from the crop and tending more lucrative cash crops on my lands”.
I had planted wheat on 80 percent of my land in November.
By the end of March, a hailstorm followed by a lengthy spell of rains damaged my crop as it suffered lodging and root displacement due to heavy winds, Mr Khan added.
Based on scientific evidence, KP is assessed to be one of the most vulnerable provinces of Pakistan toward the negative impacts of Climate Change”, as per KP Updated Climate Change Policy.
The policy stated that the toll on KP’s agriculture sector and food security because of the changing weather patterns is becoming apparent and called for proactive measures such as adaptation and mitigation in all relevant sectors of the economy to tackle the climate crisis.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report has scientifically assessed that climate change is responsible for the disruption of weather patterns which causes changes to different important crops production and yield threatening existing food production patterns.
Prof. Dr. Jehan Bakht Vice Chancellor (VC) Agricultural University Peshawar (AUP) said that the government should focus and increase public investment in research to boost production of wheat and other crops.
Wheat is a political crop and the challenge to enhance its productivity is made more pressing by climate change, he said.
“The AUP has started research for developing a wheat hybrid variety to increase the potential of yielding double grain than the output of the current varieties,” he claimed.
