Govt hopes to come to farmers’ rescue

Rains and hailstorms have caused serious damage to crops in Punjab

LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to compensate farmers for crop losses caused by hailstorms and heavy rains in various parts of the province.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar directed departments to estimate the extent of losses caused to crops, especially wheat, due to the harsh weather. He instructed the provincial administration and local government agencies to conduct a comprehensive survey to estimate damages and submit a detailed report for necessary action.

Speaking at a meeting held on Thursday, the chief minister said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government will not allow any damage to the interest of farmers and all-out efforts would be made to compensate losses. "The government sympathises with the farmers and we stand by them through these difficult times."

Punjab Minister for Revenue Malik Muhammad Anwar also expressed concerns over the huge crop damages caused by the rains. He highlighted that the government has already directed the local administrations to carry out a survey in areas and submit reports so that effective mechanisms could be evolved to compensate growers for their loss of crops.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Punjab Agriculture Extension Services Director Dr Anjum Buttar said wheat crop, covering half-a-million acres, has been affected due to the heavy rains. He estimated that in monetary terms, the country has suffered a crop loss of around Rs5-6 billion.

Another official of the Punjab Agriculture Department confirmed that wheat and corn crops were devastated due to heavy rains and hailstorms across Punjab. However, the exact quantum of damage would be estimated after a detailed survey, he said. The major cause of crops damage is hailstorms and flash floods in some areas, he added. Buttar said that unusually, low temperature is another reason of concern for farmers as fruit, especially mangoes, are in the flowering phase and such weather is harmful to plants.

Buttar indicated that major damages were witnessed in districts Mianwali, Bhakkar, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Layyah, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Multan, Lodhran, Khanewal, Vehari, Rahim Yar Khan and Sahiwal. Rajan Pur district, meanwhile, has seen damage due to a flood caused by a hill torrent after heavy rains in catchment areas of Balochistan, he shared.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Muhammad Bashir, a farmer from a village near Multan, said that local administration is planning to start a survey to estimate the scale of damage. "The fact is entire fields of wheat crop have been washed away with rain and hailstorm," said Bashir.

"We borrowed money from fertiliser and pesticide dealers for our crops, but the rains inflicted heavy losses. This year, small farmers would neither have money nor grains. If the government does not compensate farmers, especially small ones, then they be left with no option but to take to the streets," he warned.

Another farmer, Allah Ditta, indicated that besides wheat and corn, huge damage has been caused to mango orchids and vegetable crops. In some areas, rains have washed away complete fields, he pointed out.

During the last week, Standing wheat and gram crops in Bhakkar were flattened to the ground in the wake of torrential rain and hail storms.

As a result, farmers are worried about the remaining crops that managed to survive the tumultuous weather. They fear that the remaining crops will also be damaged as the harvesting process has not yet begun.