Farmer Abdul Rasheed Cultivating Hybrid Sorghum, Olive Grafting Campaign Launched In Khyber

Abdul Rasheed, a farmer residing on Peshawar–Charsadda Road, who has been farming for the last four decades, said that for the past two years he has been continuously cultivating hybrid sorghum, from which he is earning considerable profit.

Speaking to TNN, he said that one major advantage of hybrid sorghum is that its yield is higher, and its grains are larger and better compared to local maize. For cultivation of the crop, he also uses a tractor, and in some stages the seeds are sown by hand. Later, spraying is also carried out on the crop.

He further said that hybrid sorghum also resists climate change better. In the past, when local sorghum faced intense sunlight and heat, it would be damaged, but hybrid sorghum has the ability to withstand extreme heat. However, hybrid sorghum requires more water compared to local varieties, which he takes special care of.

Abdul Rasheed said that for better per-acre yield, 40 kilograms of maize seed, 15 kilograms of Sudan grass, and 30 kilograms of sorghum seed should be used. According to him, maize can be cultivated from April to September.

The provincial government's agriculture department also holds trainings for farmers on various crop-related issues, teaching them new methods to protect their crops from climate variability.

Olive grafting campaign on wild olive trees

To protect against climate change, farmers are adopting different methods and preparing over time to safeguard their crops. At the government level as well, positive steps are being taken in this regard. As a result of the special interest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Minister for Agriculture, Major (Retd) Muhammad Sajjad Khattak, an olive grafting campaign on wild olive trees has formally been launched in Khyber district.

Under this campaign, a target has been set to graft over 100,000 wild olive trees into standard olive trees in Khyber district alone. In this regard, the first training workshop was organized in the Zakhakhel area of Tora Weila (VC-44), where local people were given practical training in grafting. After the training was completed, the campaign was formally launched, in which officers of the agriculture department and local people actively participated. Officials of Agriculture Khyber, Abid Shah, Raza Khan, and Sheendi Gul Afridi were present at the inaugural ceremony.

Islam Dawar, while talking to the media, said that the provincial government has set a target of grafting over 200,000 wild olive trees for the tribal districts, of which 100,000 trees will be grafted only in Khyber district. He said that this target would be completed within one month.

He further said that this campaign would not only provide employment opportunities to local people but would also have positive effects on the area's environment and agriculture. With the promotion of olive cultivation, the local economy would strengthen while also helping to counter the negative impacts of climate change.

Local people termed the initiative of the agriculture department as encouraging, saying that the project would increase the greenery of the area and financial benefits would be gained from olive production. They said olive cultivation could prove to be an effective and sustainable solution to cope with climate change.

Pakistan and the impacts of climate change

According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan is among the world's top five countries most at risk from climate change. Although Pakistan's global carbon emissions are less than one percent, it is still among the countries severely affected by climate change.

As a result of climate change, not only is temperature increasing but its effects are also impacting our agriculture and food security. Due to untimely rains, wheat crops are affected, while stormy rains and winds damage maize crops.

According to the Crop Reporting Service in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, due to rising temperatures, severe drought, and stormy rains, the province's agriculture is facing heavy losses.

How to protect crops from climate change?

TNN tried to learn from Dr. Haroon Khan, Deputy Director of the Climate Change Center at the University of Agriculture, Peshawar, about climate-resilient crop varieties.

According to Dr. Haroon, due to climate change, rising temperatures, extreme heat, and drought are causing declines in crop yields. To address these challenges, special attention is being paid globally and in Pakistan to developing seeds adapted to climate change.

The purpose of progress in this field is to prepare such crop varieties that can withstand heat, drought, and other environmental pressures. Varieties of wheat, rice, and maize have been developed that give better yields even in extreme heat.

Similarly, although the use of biotechnology and genetic engineering is still limited in Pakistan, these technologies could prove promising in enhancing crop resistance to heat and drought.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, climate change is affecting agriculture worldwide, resulting in reduced crop production and disruptions in farming systems.

Globally, crop yields are decreasing by around 2 percent every year. According to FAO, by 2050 the intensity of climate change could cause losses of more than 100 billion dollars in the agriculture sector, which will have serious impacts on food security.

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