Rain, rain, go away: Heavy downpour destroying yield and quality of wheat crops

K-P’s Environmental Protection Agency says climate cell to be established.

PESHAWAR:

Heavy rainfall in many parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) for the past couple of days has adversely affected the overall yield and quality of the wheat crop in the province.

With the kind of rainfall the region has received during harvesting season in the past few years, farmers and agricultural experts are starting to believe it is not only damaging productivity, but also crop quality. Most of the wheat crop is currently lying drenched in the fields, with delayed harvests in many areas of Nowshera and Peshawar, since farmers are waiting for the rain to stop.

“This untimely rain is not needed right now,” said a farmer in Peshawar, Abdur Rahman, “It is destroying wheat crops and fruit orchards across K-P.”

“The crop is almost mature now, but it cannot be harvested due to the rainfall,” said Rahman, “We have been facing this for the past several years. Fruit trees such as plum, apricot and pear grown in the area are largely damaged.”

Rahman said they had been advised by agricultural experts to adjust themselves to the changing pattern of environment, however, he says this year the early-sown crops have been worse affected than late crops.

“The wheat grains usually go to waste in such situations as they begin to grow fungus,” said an agricultural expert, Dr Tariq Khan, adding that there are a number of post-harvest steps which farmers could adopt, but are only possible in sunny days. “Any more damage would mean the province, which is already dependent on Punjab, would have to purchase more wheat.”

Environmental Protection Agency K-P Director General Dr Muhammad Bashir told The Express Tribune about establishing a climate cell in the province to inform farmers about the changing patterns of environment, adding the process is under way. Khan said their first step will be to conduct a detailed research on the climate history of the area, the particular crops being grown and other related aspects.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2014.