Mountain farming in northern region

Pessimistic beliefs stating that the Northern Areas of Pakistan offer little possibility for introducing agricultural production, due to acidity and scarcity of land, have been belied.
Cultivation of pest-free potato in the uplands ranging from 9000 feet high and above is a noteworthy success story of the farmers in the plains, thus substituting its import to save valuable foreign exchange. The importance of giving a genuine boost to hilly agriculture in the Northern Areas is not only beneficial to the respective communities of the region but may sustain the agricultural economy in the rest of the country.
Although efforts remain under way for the industrious farmers in the rural areas of the North to cultivate potato in substitution for traditional cropping, there is need to achieve maximum potato cultivation targets in the region.
This should be in addition to maximising and popularising mountain farming technology in the region at subsidised rates and by offering incentives to subsistence farming.
The yardstick for giving loans by the Pakistan Zarrai Bank of Pakistan remains the same as is in vogue elsewhere in the country.
This indeed is an important step to equate the hilly land with that of the plains. For example, the maximum land needed for a handful loan here is put at around 40 Kanals which is unjust. Instead it is required to be further reduced to enable mountain farmers to have access to such a loan facility in an easy manner. There farmers are also required to be offered incentives for mechanisation.
The potato cultivation, it is to be pointed out that by now it has assumed the status of 'CASH CROP' in the region with an average farmer earning around Rs. one lakh (Rs 1,00,000) per annum provided unhindered farming takes place. Potato cultivation initially got popular in the 'Upper Hunza Valley'. The results achieved there attracted other communities to undertake the same cropping pattern as in the plains. Its result was that cultivation is gathering popular in all other holds like Bagrote, Harmoish, Astore, Gizar, Diamir and the whole of Baltistan with fruitful results.
The construction of three tourist roads across the Northern Areas would undoubtedly bring about more accessibility to it and more people would benefit from the produce. Though potato cultivation is rife in the low lands it is not that much pest-free. Once one gets used to the potato of the uplands, he should develop a taste for the same.
Researchers hold the view that the potato produce is singularly pest-free for being used as seed and is capable of being switching over to the mountain farming technology which may redouble the produce.
Meanwhile a number of storage-houses at places like Gilgit, Ghizai, Chital and Gojal have been established, which would help boost the mountain farming in the region.