The recent rains across Punjab have caused 5 percent to 8 percent pre-and post-harvesting losses to wheat production and have delayed harvesting, at least for a week, agronomists and representatives of farmers told Business Recorder here on Sunday. They said that rains have also damaged the early variety Bt cotton in southern Punjab, sown in March /April over a million acres.
"Mechanical as well as manual wheat harvesting is usually in full swing in the second fortnight of April every year but due to rains and strong winds this operation is almost at a standstill at present", said Ibrahim Mughal, President of Pakistan Agri Forum.
He said that farmers had started harvesting in southern Punjab districts of Rajanpur, DG Khan, Rahimyar Khan and Bahawalpur in the first week of April, but heavy rains caused significant damage to the harvested crop.
He said that wheat was sown over 16.5 million acres in Punjab, which produces 80 percent of the staple food of the country. Punjab was expected to produce at least 18.7 million tons against the target of 19.2 million tons of wheat this year. However, the untimely rains and atmospheric disturbances have cast doubts about the estimate of wheat production.
Convenor of Punjab Water Council, Farooq Bajwa, said that almost all parts of Punjab experienced widespread rains during past three days, raising concerns among the farming community about the threat to the ripe wheat crop sown in November 2010.
Though the rain may be beneficial to the wheat crop sown late in December, it has damaged the ripe and harvested crop and also delayed sowing of cotton in the province.
Chief Co-ordinator of Farmers Associates of Pakistan (FAP), Dr Tariq Bucha, called upon the Punjab government and Passco to immediately start purchase of wheat so that the harvested crop is not damaged in open fields.
Bucha said that weather forecasts and atmospheric disturbances are a matter of great anxiety and worry for the farming community since they have made heavy investments in the Rabi crops including the strategic wheat, grams, oilseeds, lentils, mustards, sunflower, vegetables and fodder crops.
Meanwhile Met Office has said that current weather system is likely to continue in upper parts of the country during next 36 hours. More rain/thundershower, accompanied by gusty winds likely in scattered places of Punjab, KP and Gilgit-Baltistan/Kashmir on Sunday/Monday. However, the current weather system has subsided in southern parts of the country. Dry weather is expected in Sindh, Balochistan, for next few days. Due to current rainfall, the day temps have fallen 2-4 °C in most parts of the country.
Farmers of wheat growing areas have been advised to keep crops harvesting suspended during the period and may continue their activities from Tuesday.