Strawberry production suffers due to climate change

Out-of-season rainfall has destroyed cash crops of the seasonal fruit across areas in K-P

PESHAWAR:

Agricultural families residing in underdeveloped mountainous terrains rely largely on seasonal fruit production for maintaining their survival throughout the year however, as the pernicious effects of climate change start altering rainfall patterns across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), many poor families will be left with devastated crops in their fields.

In K-P, the consequences of global warming and climate change are evident in the changing of the monsoon season, which now falls at a time when the strawberry cash crop, a speciality of Charsadda, is to be cultivated. The strawberry crop, which is planted in October and November, ripens and is ready for harvest by April. Unfortunately, this year's strawberry production witnessed a significant setback due to the unusual rains, which destroyed approximately 80 per cent of the fruit’s crop, leaving farmers in a deplorable state since they were only left with poor quality strawberries that could only be sold at low prices,

One such farmer was Mutahir Shah from Charsadda, who has been cultivating strawberry cash crops since the past 17 years. This year’s excessive rainfall has left his eight-kanal strawberry garden in a state of ruins. “During the peak of the harvest season, my field got flooded due to the out-of-season rainfall. The strawberries, which span an area of almost a thousand acres, were adversely affected by the rains, resulting in smaller and more damaged fruits. Our strawberries are typically sold for Rs250 to Rs300 per kg but this year we had to sell them for a mere Rs100,” sorrowfully said Shah.

“One acre of field yields 400 kilograms of strawberries. Unfortunately, this year, hailstorms and raining spells have destroyed everything. This has significantly impacted the daily earnings of locals associated with the strawberry business,” said Akhtar Bacha, a strawberry trader.

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Bacha’s claims were supported by Usman Khan, a young man, who used to handpick strawberries from a field nearby. “Previously, I would earn Rs200 for each hour spent picking strawberries. However, this season I am very anxious since I cannot find work due to the scarcity of the strawberry crop,” expressed Khan, who was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the second strawberry season in the hopes of securing some form of employment.

According to Dr Attaur Rehman, former Chairman of the Environmental Department at the University of Peshawar, global warming and climate change had brought about alterations in the rainfall pattern and disruptions in the monsoon season, which were affecting crop yield in the upper areas of K-P. "Both fruit and wheat production has been halted due to continuous rain and lack of sunshine,” said Dr Attaur Rehman, who felt that storing excess rainwater in dams was required to evade the negative effects of climate change.

 The climate crisis is underway in K-P, where sources from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) report that heavy rainfall has claimed the lives of 46 locals while injuring 60 others across the province. Furthermore, a sum total of 2,875 houses were damaged as a result of wall and roof collapses across various districts including Khyber, Upper and Lower Dir, Chitral, Swat, Bajaur, Shangla, Mansehra, Mohmand, Malakand, Kirk, Tank, Mardan, Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Buner, Hangu, Bitgram, Bannu, North and South Waziristan, Kohat, DI Khan and Karzai.

Even though the K-P government has released Rs110 million for relief of the flood affected families, it must still take prompt action to address the challenges posed by climate change in the province, which could entail more floods, landslides and food shortages in the future.