Bahawalnagar crops face destruction

High quality of wheat has been sown on a million acres of land in Bahawalnagar district of South Punjab this year. The district keeps its standard intact, and it is on top of the list of the districts which completed their purchasing targets and providing wheat to the other districts.

Crops like mustard, canola, corn and others are also being sent to national and international markets. Rice and cotton from Bahawalnagar are also being supplied to the biggest trade centres of Asia.

The farmers are restless today and have appealed to the government to bail them out since they borrowed money from the landowners to buy fertilizers and also bought petrol on credit. Moreover, they also had to pay to the bank.

The farmers said they were also facing shortage of canal water and were being fleeced by a mafia who, they alleged, was selling fake chemicals for crops.

In current weather conditions, rains will be very damaging to the wheat crop. Heavy rains and stormy winds have sounded alarm bells for the farmers.

The time for harvesting of crops has almost arrived, while the harvesting process has already started in the rain-fed Cholistan areas. The situation is very critical due to climate change. According to the Department of Agriculture, 12% of the losses have been reported. According to the farmers, 25% of additional wheat crops have faced heavy losses, but more rains would prove to be a disaster for the wheat crop.

Agricultural experts say that more rains would cause record losses to the farmers.

The district has been hit by a thunderstorm since last night. There are apprehensions that 30% of the wheat crop would be destroyed due to rains, and further bad weather would prove to be fatal for the wheat crops.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2023.