Muhammad Saleem

Farmers need to grow climate-resilient crops as changing weather patterns have hit key crops like wheat, cotton, and rice in Pakistan, severely affecting agricultural production. Dr Muhammad Ali, an agricultural economist, said that climate change was hitting different sectors, and the agriculture sector was no exception. He said that climate change’s impact on agriculture was a cause of concern for countries like Pakistan, which are heavily reliant on farming.

Talking to WealthPK, he said extreme weather events are disrupting cultivation patterns and reducing agricultural productivity. He stressed the need for adaptive measures to address the issues related to climate change. “We are witnessing climate change effects in the form of heavy floods, shrinking water resources and unpredictable weather patterns.

This changing scenario has entirely wiped off crops in different areas in recent years, and the situation is likely to go from bad to worse in future, further impacting wheat, rice, cotton and other crop production,” he said. “In such circumstances, it is the responsibility of policymakers to allocate hefty funds to introduce climate-resilient seeds for all major crops,” Ali demanded.

“If we stick to traditional cultivation practices, our economy will likely face losses running into billions of rupees,” he warned. He said farmers’ incomes were being greatly eroded because of low productivity – a situation that was increasing poverty and unemployment in the country,” he said. The agricultural economist noted that unpredictable weather was disrupting agricultural patterns.

“We desperately need forest cover to weather the storm, but, unfortunately, we are pursuing a misguided approach and unscrupulous elements are given a free hand to shave off trees just for a few bucks.” “Similarly, we are unable to curb the industrial emissions with factories allowed to spew poison into the air, playing with people’s lives,” he said, adding that rivers were also being polluted with impunity.

Imran Hussain, a progressive farmer, told WealthPK that inconsistent government policies and climate change were taking a heavy toll on the farm productivity. He said Pakistan was struggling to meet the production targets for wheat, rice and other crops.

Credit: INP-WealthPk