Climatic change and food insecurity

Monday, July-08-2013

Ali Bakhsh is an aged farmer, based in Nushki district, which is about 148 kilometers southeast of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, the largest but least developed province of Pakistan.

Ali Bakhsh cultivates mostly wheat, cumin, watermelon and melon in his rain-irrigated lands that bring enough income to him to live a normal life with his family, but now he does not seem happy with farming since he is not able to cultivate wheat nor cumin because of extra-ordinary delay in rain and long draught.

Since last more than one decade, Ali Bakhsh says they are observing drastic change in weather conditions that is inflicting their centuries-old farming which is the mainstay of their economy.

“Our arid lands are stretched over thousands of acres and the source of irrigation is rainwater and tube-wells but because of unusual variation in weather and draughts we are unable to grow wheat, cumin, watermelon and other crops,” he says, adding that these crops used to give a boost to their economy but now they could not even grow wheat to fulfill their needs.

Ali Bakhsh recalls that he had witnessed long droughts consisting ten to 15 years but after long draughts the weather would return in its normal form and the rain would fall timely helping them to cultivate wheat, cumin and other crops.

“In past we have experienced enough rains with the beginning of November which is the best timing for cultivation of wheat and cumin in Nushki and its surrounding districts but during past 8 to 10 years we are going through uneven delay in rains,” he explains.

Like Ali Bakhsh there are hundreds of other farmers whom livelihood is linked with rainwater in most of districts of Balochistan which covers 44 per cent of Pakistan in terms of area and over 80 per cent of its population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture and livestock.

The arid lands of Balochistan which are dependent on rainwater produce thousands of tonnes wheat, cumin, watermelon and melon for the scattered population of Balochistan and farmers not only fulfill their own demands from these yields but also export them to other main cities of the country.

But when draught hits the areas, the farmers not only fall in starvation but are also compel to move to urban areas for search of food that makes their life more miserable.

Muhammad Azeem, another Nushki-based former says if there is timely rain on their apparently barren lands they could produce thousands of tons of wheat that would not only be sufficient for over 0.2 million population of Nushki district but it would also fulfill demands of rest of Balochistan population.

There is a serious shortage of power (energy crises) in the country and because of non-availability of electricity the agriculture sector is facing serious complexity particularly in Balochistan where agriculture in 29 out of 33 districts depends on electricity.

“Since 2001 various districts of Balochistan, including that of district Nushki are virtually passing through a long draught, thus no data of wheat and cumin yield of rain- irrigated lands has been taken,” Sanaullah Badini, an official of agriculture department in district Nushki told The Nation, adding that there are 21 per cent cultivated lands in Nushki which depend on rains while 60 per cent are irrigated through tube-wells.

“Nushki and many other districts have been passing through draught like situation for the last several years. The cycle of rain has also changed manifold as it rains heavily in the month of February instead of November and December which is considered the right time for cultivation of wheat and cumin,” he said, adding that due to variation in the cycle of rain the rain-dependent farmers could not cultivate crops and suffer a lot.

He says rainfall and temperature has a significant effect on wheat crop productivity.Deputy Director Environmental Protection Agency and renowned environmentalist, Mehboub Baloch says delay in rainfall is all because of climatic change since a number of gasses, including Corbin dioxide and hydrocarbon were contributing in climatic change. “Climate change is a global issue and we have been observing a change in climate in Pakistan particularly in Balochistan and the heavy thunderstorm in Gwadar in 2011 and heavy floods in Naseerabad and Jaffarabad were its main example,” he added.

He says owing to climatic change the agriculture sector is also being affected because of which food insecurity is existing, however, if available water reservoirs are used properly and modern technology of irrigation is adopted the formers would be able to irrigate their lands and could produce maximum food. “Besides cleaning water channels (Karezats) delay-action dames should be constructed and the wastage of rain water should be protected from being wasted,” he added.

Courtesy The Nation
News Collected by agrinfobank.com

Pakistan farmers grapple with climate change

Saleem Shaikh and Sughra Tunio

Gujar Khan, Pakistan - After five consecutive dry winters, Abdul Qadeer was jubilant at the prospect of a plentiful harvest of wheat after December rains soaked his farmland.

But the 39-year-old farmer’s hopes were destroyed last month by torrential spring rains and a hailstorm that flattened his wheat crop.

Qadeer is one of many farmers suffering the effects of unpredictable weather patterns and variable rainfall, which scientists believe are linked to climate change.

Now Pakistan’s government is trying to introduce crop insurance to save farmers from economic ruin. Qadeer, who farms land in Gujar Khan, approximately 55 km southeast of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, vividly recalls the unexpected volley of pebble-sized hailstones that lashed his 15-acre (6-hectare) field for about 15 minutes one day in the last week of March.

“I could clearly hear dull, clunking sounds of the hailstones that slashed through the stalks of the standing wheat crop and knocked (the ears of wheat) to the ground,” Qadeer said.

He had anticipated harvesting a good crop in the second week of April, but the unseasonal storm destroyed his wheat, causing losses of 800,000 Pakistani rupees ($8,000).

Zaman Ali, a farmer in Islamabad’s southern suburb of Chak Shahzad, says 70 percent of the wheat he was growing on 9 acres (3.6 hectares) was destroyed by strong winds and heavy rain.

Farmers are really defenceless when such unwanted torrential rains and hailstorms strike their crops. We are really completely at the mercy of the weather

Muhammad Riaz, farmer,

Ali believes the yield from the remaining wheat will reach only 60 percent of what it should have been, because the rains brought unseasonably low temperatures, preventing the grain from maturing properly. Ali described the weather as unprecedented in his 15 years of experience growing crops.

“Farmers are really defenceless when such unwanted torrential rains and hailstorms strike their crops,” said Muhammad Riaz, who lost crops worth about 1.6 million rupees ($16,000) on his 24-acre (10-hectare) farm in Haripur, 65 km (40 miles) north of Islamabad. “We are really completely at the mercy of the weather.”

Insurance coming soon?

“The solution to such grim situations that are becoming frequent lies in crop insurance,” said Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Pakistan’s former federal minister for food and agriculture. “Farmers can at least recover some of the financial damages, and are able to cultivate next season crops.”

Crop insurance is not currently available in Pakistan, but Iftikhar Ahmed, chairman of the state-owned Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), said the government is leading negotiations with insurance firms and banks to introduce a national crop insurance programme, similar to those introduced in Sri Lanka, India and Nepal. It is hoped the insurance will be available by mid-November this year.

In Pakistan, wheat is sown in mid-October and harvested in mid-April. Around 16 million acres (6.5 million hectares) are planted with wheat every year, yielding around 25 million tonnes of grain.

“Eight to 10 years ago, the spring season used to come in the first week of March and last for 25 to 30 days. Now, it comes in late March and lasts for only 15 to 20 days,” said farmer Qadeer.

Spring rain is a rare phenomenon in Pakistan, particularly in northern and central areas. The inclement weather lowered the temperature by 20 degrees Celsius to around 9 degrees this year.

“From March to mid-April, the wheat crop needs (temperatures) above 30 degrees Celsius for its healthy growth of stalk and grain, and to avoid pest attacks,” said Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry, the World Meteorological Organisation’s vice president for the Asia region and a former director-general of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

According to PARC’s Ahmed, high moisture levels in the air have also led to fungus and insect infestations.

Production drops

Officials at the federal food security and research ministry in Islamabad say they expect wheat production from rain-fed land to be 30 percent lower than normal as a result of the extreme weather.

Ghulam Rasul, chief meteorologist at the PMD, said that although hailstorms can be forecast six to 12 hours in advance, the damage they cause to crops cannot be staved off.

“We had predicted both torrential rains and hailstorms on March 23 and 24 in the upper and central parts of the country, and dust storms and intermittent rains for two to four days in the last week of March in southern and coastal areas,” he said.

“Since these untimely or unseasonal rains and hailstorm came at a time when most of the winter crops such as wheat, mustard, vegetables were near harvest, nothing could be done to save the standing crops,” he explained.

Ibrahim Mughal, chairman of Agri Forum Pakistan, a nongovernmental farmers’ body based in Lahore, said the government has consulted with representatives of farmers’ groups about ways to make a national insurance programme effective.

The views of smallholders are key because their share of cultivation is around 75 percent.

“We have suggested that, without a mass awareness campaign about the benefits of crop insurance and subsidising premiums for small or subsistence farmers...the insurance programme is unlikely to win the hearts of farmers,” said Mughal.

This article first appeared on the Thomson Reuters Foundation news service

Source: Al Jazeera

Climate change: red alert or red herring?

Climate experts have been drawing a doomsday scenario with threats of natural disasters such as droughts, floods, water wars and other calamities that can be blamed on global warming. The hoopla has led agricultural researchers to ponder on impending food shortages, and therefore a laborious research has begun to produce climate-proof crops that can defy extreme heat or cold.

While researchers and experts have realised the need for change in production ways, the gravity of the situation has not sunk in with government departments.

“Recent disasters have, jolted their (officials’) minds but this area needs much more serious efforts particularly in climate proofing rather than just waiting for damages to happen and then take recourse. More political commitment, investment in relevant institutions, robust strategies and effective implementation and follow-up are needed” said Naseer Memon, a climate change expert.

According to Iftikhar Ahmad, chairman of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), increased preparedness for climate-related risk management through a multi-disciplinary approach is the need of the hour.

Time is indeed a critical factor. The impact of extreme weather patterns and scarcity of water will be felt on food production, in the next ten years, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“This includes development of improved crop varieties with resistance to emerging biotic and a-biotic stresses, introduction of new crop species, investment in new irrigation systems, and use of eco-friendly management options (for example, organic agriculture, bio-pesticides, bio-herbicides),” Ahmad of PARC explained.

However, international agricultural economist Dr Zafar Altaf has dismissed the hype surrounding climate change.

“As plants have an inherent ability to fight drought and rain, there is little need to tamper with nature or fight climate change,” he told Dawn.com.

Meanwhile, several Pakistani agricultural experts have been busy searching for methods that could help climate-proof crops. There have been talks of setting up of national seed banks for such varieties that can withstand extreme events and even grow crops that produce more food, have more nutrients and grow on the same amount of land, with less water.

Despite the interest being shown by his compatriots, Altaf was adamant that climate-proofing is a ‘red herring’ by the west.

According to Altaf, the West’s cropping pattern, which he terms ‘meaningless,’ was inherited as a colonial legacy and is being promoted by its own interests.

“Pakistan will not run out of food, so there is no need for climate-proof crops.”

Underlining the need for innovative farming methods, he added, “new ways require imagination and specialists who are multi-disciplinarian; improved marketing of the produce and achieving food security.”

This, however, cannot be achieved without hiccups. “The pace at which climate changes will occur, needs to be at par with the change in mentality in the agriculture sector,” Altaf said.
“There is an urgent need to raise the educational standards drastically.”

In addition, the farmer has to be inducted in that development paradigm shift. “The best option is to make the farmer a party to decision making,” he said.

The same notion was endorsed by PARC chairman Iftikhar Ahmad, who called for improved climate-related decision-making should be at the farms.
“Farmers need to gain a better understanding of the climate factors that affect crop yield in their environment”.

This, he insisted, would allow decision makers to identify possible management options based on climate information or seasonal forecasts. “That will not only enhance the resilience in various cropping systems but also sustain the farm productivity.”

The threat is that if farmers are not taken along, the implication of climate change on crop yields may lead to the risk of hunger, which could be disastrous as Pakistan is already facing acute malnourishment.

According to Pakistan’s National Nutrition Survey 2011, 57 per cent of the country’s total population of 184 million is facing food insecurity.

The finding of the national survey (carried out by the ministry of health’s Nutrition Wing in collaboration with the Aga Khan University) states that among that 57 per cent, half the women and children were found to be malnourished.

Dr Zulfikar Bhutta, the lead investigator of the nutrition report, believes “increased poverty levels, illiteracy, lack of awareness regarding the right kind of food to take, and a government distracted by non-issues” has led to the unacceptable high levels of malnourishment.

“I find it extremely alarming that we will have a generation of unhealthy children who will grow up to be unhealthy adults.”

Health experts, including Bhutta have long been raising awareness regarding Vitamin A, zinc and Vitamin D deficiency.

While climate change does contribute to the malnourishment crisis, it is only one of the known risk factors that may lead to food insecurity.

“In addition to introducing farmer-friendly policies (for example, those related to market availability and stability), timely availability of inputs (seeds, fertilizers, irrigation water) needs to be ensured to minimise the impacts of climate change” Iftikhar Ahmad said.

According to Altaf, input costs can be reduced by using organic fertilisers as opposed to chemical fertiliser, which is 20 times more expensive. “But the West and the vested interests in this country would not allow such a move,” he said.

He reiterated the need to make the locally produced food easily available and affordable.

“Pakistan can make it on its own provided the marketing is made more relevant and fair.”

“At the moment the physical distance between the consumer and the producer is immense.”

When Pakistan and India were partitioned (in 1947), the number agriculture markets in Punjab was 650, which has now come down to 119.

“Consumers are suffering because of policy indifference. The small farmer can become viable if he does have the facility to sell in markets closer home.”

Altaf emphasized that Pakistan’s problems were not with nature but with humans who do not understand the implications of donor-driven policies.

He went on to add that the assistance provided by international donor agencies does not help.

“They have allowed misallocation of resources because they cannot afford failures. They go to the most likely areas where the projects can be a success – the irrigated areas of Sindh and Punjab provinces.”

“As a result, farmers based in marginal areas and fragile areas are excluded from the developmental process. These marginal areas can produce much more from their indigenous sources. It is the absence of relevant policies that is making life risky.”

Source: Dawn.com