Farmers in Balochistan are not able to grow any major crops like wheat due to scarcity of water-Report
Farmers in Balochistan are not able to grow any major crops like wheat due to scarcity of water and inputs, and the comparative edge of climate in Balochistan is being exploited by fruits and vegetable growers, according to `Soil Fertility Atlas` jointly released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the US Department of Agriculture, on Monday, reported Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn News.
Almost 81 percent of farmers complained that water scarcity is the major constraint hampering agricultural activities throughout Balochistan, while unavailability of good quality seed was reported by 65pc of farmers, whereas, access to agricultural loans was limited to 61pc farmers. The water scarcity varies in the seven districts of crop production zones.
Wheat is the most common crop in all the crop zones, but the proportion does not fulfill the domestic requirements of the growers and is sparingly sold in the market.
Apple, apricot, grape and dates are grown in specific zones due to suitable climate for quality fruit production, whereas, onion, tomato, chillies and cauliflower are grown for markets of Balochistan and other parts of the country during off-season.
Being the principal cash earning commodities, fruits and vegetables are grown with mostly balanced supply of fertilisers combined with organic manures.
Sizeable numbers of farmers tend to apply fertilisers whereas the micro-nutrient application is not common in fruit orchards or even not practiced.
Traditionally, the vegetable growers in the province prefer organic sources because ofits availability and low or no cost, according to the soil atlas.
Fertiliser offtake data for ten years (2008-17) in seven crop producing zones of Balochistan showed maximum annual urea offtake in five zones during eight years (2008-15) by two other crop zones.
FAO Representative in Pakistan, Mina Dowlatchahi, stated that the atlas is an important addition to the series of `Soil Fertility Atlases` which will be instrumental in addressing the lack of data in managing soil fertility in Pakistan. Soil maps based on agro-ecological zones have been made part of the Balochistan atlas.
The launching of atlas marked the conclusion of the Soil Fertility Management for Sustainable Intensification Project, with soil atlases published in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan provinces and a publication date of Dec 21 for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.