One night was all it took for Bibi Baskiya’s fortunes to be reversed. In June the young farmer had sown maize on her plot in Danyore, a scenic mountain village in northern Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan province. But her crop was flattened in September by a sudden rainstorm and heavy winds.
Baskiya is one of many farmers in this remote region whose livelihoods are threatened by the effects of erratic weather and climate change.
Video Interview (1)
Bibi Baskiya (Female)
Farmer, Danyore village, Gilgit-Baltistan province
“We farmers are really helpless before the inconsistent weather,” said Baskiya. “We are thinking to abandon growing maize and wheat, and cultivate cash crops like tomato and potato instead that are short-duration and less water-intensive.”
Voiceover: Local agriculture experts say that in Gilgit and adjoining districts, rains are now falling patchily in the summer months. Sometimes they are intense, other times not.
Video Interview (2)
Muhammad Iqbal (Man)
Chairman
Local Support Organisation Danyore (LSO-D), Gilgit-Baltistan province
“Rains are unequal even within Danyore village. “When it rains in the eastern part of the village, the west remains without it. The perplexing situation is cause of worry for farmers and they feel forced stop continue cultivating crops.”
Voiceover: Gilgit-Baltistan is home to the world’s largest frozen water reservoir. Its snow and ice feed the Indus river system – a lifeline for Pakistan’s agro-based economy.
Farmers depend on melting snow from April onwards to replenish streams, so they can sow vegetables and maize from late May. But according to Da’ad, prolonged winter weather is delaying snow melt, making it difficult to plant crops in time.
Nek Parveen of local support group LSO-D says streams filled 50 days later than expected this year.
Video Interview (3)
Nek Parveen (Female)
Agriculture development support officer
Local Support Organisation Danyore (LSO-D), Gilgit-Baltistan province
“Women wheat farmers in Sultanabad village (adjacent to Danyore) suffered substantial financial losses early this April, as they had to prematurely harvest after farmers sensed (the crop’s) growth had halted.”
Voiceover: Rural development expert Muhammad Iqbal says there is a need to invest in farmers’ ability to adapt to shifts in the local climate and water availability. But little help has been made available to them so far.
Video Interview (4)
Muhammad Iqbal (Man)
Rural Dev. & Environment expert
LSO-Danyore, Gilgit
“We need to moblise farmers and train them about climate-resilient smart-farming techniques. Besides, we also need to introduce among them the best water management practices and build small water reservoirs to reduce wastage."
Voiceover: He stresses for launching programmes to help mountain farmers adapt to the impacts of climate change that are need of the hour to support the livelihoods of rural people and maintain an acceptable level of food security.
Sign-off
Saleem Shaikh
For AlertNet Climate
Thomson Reuters Foundation
From Danyore village in Gilgit-Baltistan province
Pakistan.
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