No respite for farmers

Date shortage expected due to the destruction brought on by floods

Quetta: Makran Division is known for producing the best date fruits in the country, with a different  varieties. It is, however, that this year’s market demand for dates will not be met in the country due to the devastation caused by floods that destroyed farmers’ standing and ready crops across the region.

Recent monsoon flash floods have completely destroyed date palm farms in Balochistan’s Kech district. Due to this year’s disaster, the farmers have lost their only source of income, depriving them of the opportunity to earn a decent living and meet their basic needs. According to the Balochistan Rural Support Program (BRSP), as many as nine thousand houses have been damaged, six thousand homes have been completely destroyed, and more than 400 villages have been destroyed across the 15 districts in the aftermath of recent flood devastation. As per the BRSP, 98,208 households and 676,048 people have been affected, with 36 per cent of agricultural lands damaged.

Mujeeb, 50, of Kech District, said they had hoped for relief from the provincial and federal governments, as well as donor organisations, but no one had taken notice of their plight. ”I don’t have any other alternate source of income; I was totally dependent on my date cultivation, and now I am forced to find another source of income to earn finances for my family,” Mujeeb said, adding that the family has no other wage earner and that the government and donor agencies should provide them with assistance in such a crisis. Kareem Dad, a 40-year-old farmer from the Kech District, said the flash floods washed away his crops. ”I’m not sure how I’ll make ends meet this year; my family is entirely dependent on date farming; every year, I earn a few lacs and spend them over the course of the year, but this time I’m forced to take on a loan,” he explained to Bol News.

He also stated that they have received no relief or assistance from local or provincial officials and have been left to the mercy of charity. According to the Kech Agriculture Department, there are 500 varieties of date palm which were cultivated in the Kech district, were all destroyed by the recent floods.

”Every variety has been washed away; this year, people in the country may be left with no dates for the month of Ramadan,” Kareem Dad said. Kareem Dad also stated that he is not the only victim, as the numbers of victims go up to thousands.

Abdullah Murad, a local landlord in district Kech’s Buleda area, stated, ”despite the fact that Buleda is an agricultural area, the department of agriculture has not provided any facilities to the people who rely on farming and agriculture for a living. The recent floods have destroyed everything, leaving people with nothing and no other source of income.” Yousaf Jan, a landlord and social activist from Kech, claims that as a result of the recent monsoon rains, landlords’ ready-date palm crops have been destroyed, costing them millions of rupees in losses.

”The majority of farmers in Kech and Panjgur are dependent on date palm crops for a living. They are in the midst of a severe financial crisis as a result of recent devastation,” he went on to say, adding that the majority of farmers are only left with 15 per cent of their cultivated crops, with a large portion of them damaged, causing a shortage in the market.

Haji Sawali, 70 years old and from the Absar area of Kech District, is also among those affected. He claimed that everything was in order and that he expected to earn Rs 1.5 million this year, but that all of the crops, including the equipment and solar panels, were washed away. ”Without government assistance, my family has been forced to go without food for several days,” Haji Sawali lamented. Dad Mohammad, 85 years old, has been involved in farming for decades. All of his date palm crops were destroyed in the recent flood devastation. ”The date palm crops were better this year, and a higher profit was expected than in previous years. The farmers were overjoyed because they expected to make a larger profit, but now they have lost millions, and all of the power equipment has been submerged,” he stated. Due to a shortage of dates in the market, it is expected that the prices of dates will rise during the upcoming Ramadan, preventing the poor from purchasing them.

Both farmers and landlords appear to be dissatisfied with the provincial and federal governments. They have lost their crops and are now left with nothing, as agriculture is the majority of their source of income. They require the full attention and support of the authorities, as the agriculture sector in Balochistan is weak, and the recent floods have thrown them into desperate circumstances.