Muhammad Faheem

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province in northwestern Pakistan, is facing a potential food security crisis due to severe weather conditions damaging this year's wheat crop. The province heavily relies on imports from Punjab and abroad for food, as only around 25% of the annual requirement of 50 lakh metric tons of wheat is produced within the province. The remaining 75% is imported from other areas.

Last year's heavy rains and floods delayed the sowing of wheat crops in many districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and now continuous rains and hailstorms during the wheat harvesting season have caused significant damage to the standing crop.

According to the Crop Reporting subsidiary of the Department of Agriculture, this year's target for wheat production has been set at around 1.4 million metric tons. However, due to the recent weather conditions, it appears difficult to achieve this goal.

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During the month of Ramadan, rains and hailstorms across the province have caused severe damage to the wheat crop, standing in a large area. As per the Department of Agriculture, out of the total area of 19 lakh acres in the province, the wheat crop has been affected on about 36 thousand acres, reducing the wheat production for the season by 1 lakh metric tons.

Abdul Qayyum Khan, Director of Seed (Seeds) at the Department of Agriculture, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, states that wheat harvesting has begun in the southern districts of the province, but the recent rain and floods during harvesting pose a significant risk to the crop.

Floods, he furthered, have already affected a large area of DI Khan, and while the Chashma Right Bank Canal has been repaired to a large extent, the damage to the crops has already been done.

Khan adds that the food department has been informed in advance about the situation so that they can make timely arrangements to meet the needs of the province.

Arbab Muhammad Jameel, the head of the Ittehad Zamindaran Organization, has stated that rain and storms are natural calamities with no cure. Although the wheat crop in the central districts of Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi, and Nowshera is fully ripe and has significant height, the storm and rain have severely affected the crop. The ripe and ready kernels have fallen, which is likely to severely impact production. Wheat was sown in October along with the wheat crop that takes longer and yields more, but the change in weather has affected the crop severely.

Last year, in April, the price of a 20 kg bag of flour in Peshawar was between 1100 and 1200 rupees. However, the price had reached 3 thousand 400, and this year also, the wheat crop has been affected, with little possibility of stability in the price of flour.

This lack of self-sufficiency in wheat is likely to directly impact Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as the province is forced to rely on imports for most of its wheat needs.