The Agricultural Research Institute Tarnab (ARIT) in Peshawar has released three brand-new wheat varieties which have been developed under conditions of changed climate to triplicate per-acre yield improvement. This effort will help farmers grapple with the current realities of climate change and declining agricultural productivity.
These crops assure food production in the immediate while also guaranteeing a future in which generations to come can also grow food. The scientists in addition developed a variety of wheat seed meant for rain-fed farming to serve the torrential and high use of rainfall that this area is known for.
ARIT in a report sent to dawn.com compared wheat production in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against the reported wheat need for its population, showing a glaring difference. While the province consumes around 5 million tonnes of wheat, it produces a meager 1.4 million tonnes. More than 51% of the agricultural land in the province is completely under rain-dependent agriculture, putting it heavily at risk under climate variability.
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Challenges of climate change
Dr. Akhtar Ali, a senior agricultural scientist at ARIT, emphasized that over the last five years farming in this region has been under serious threat due to climate change. “Delays of rainfall pattern and seasonal shifts cause major problems to agriculture sector,” he noted, and it has caused yield decline from existing wheat varieties.
Adopting Modern Techniques
Altaf Khan, an ARIT researcher, explains his belief that for modern technologies, wheat production should be increased significantly. “New seeds have to be treated with modern techniques to realize their full potential,” says him. Farmers have to adopt scientific methods into practice.
Static Wheat Production in KP
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also been static in terms of wheat production and its area under cultivation for nearly ten years. Farmers have started raising their voices on the sky-high increasing costs of production. “We have to reduce the wheat area,” said Marwan Khan from Charsadda. Every traditional farming method called for much more fertilizer and pesticides to meet their yields now.
More Innovation and Support
New wheat varieties will meet the requirements of the farmers; researchers stress that such paperwork should be strengthened with government support in making affordable seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides available. Thus, raising awareness of the adverse effects of climate change on agriculture will enable them to adjust faster to the pace of change.