Strawberry fields under threat: Farmers fear water uncertainty amid IWT violations by India
PESHAWAR (APP): As the soft golden rays of the morning sun spread across the fertile fields of tehsil Razar in Swabi district, 40-year-old progressive farmer Naseer Khan begins his day long before most farmers have arrived to pluck strawberry being sold like a hot cake during Iftar.
Moments after offering Fajr prayer, Naseer and his brothers walk into their lush five-acre strawberry field in village Sheikh Jana, baskets in hand hoping to earn maximum capital. The holy month of Ramazan has pushed demand for strawberries sharply upward, making the delicate fruit a prized item on many iftar tables in Khyber Pakthunkhwa.
“Following Fajr prayer, I come to the fields with my father and brothers to pluck strawberries before the sun gets stronger,” Naseer says, adjusting his traditional turban while carefully placing bright red fruit into woven baskets. For farmers like him, the present harvest season brings both opportunity and anxiety.
Strawberries have quietly become one of the most profitable seasonal crops for farmers in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab provinces. Cultivated on raised beds with high density planting—often exceeding 70,000 plants per acre as the crop offers impressive returns especially during Ramazan.
These days, strawberries are being sold for around Rs500 per kilogram in the local market, although prices usually decline to Rs100 per kilogram by April as supply increases in Peshawar. “With good management and proper watering, a single acre can produce between 15,000 and 17,000 kilograms,” Naseer explains. “Farmers can earn more than Rs1 million per acre if everything, especially watering goes well.”
Naseer’s optimism about future harvest is clouded by growing concern over water availability following India’s illegal announcement last year to place the historic Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance. As per the treaty, the international community including India had accepted Pakistan’s water right of rivers Indus, Chanab and Jehlum and no state can unilaterally suspend or hold it in abeyance.
Agriculture in Swabi district depends heavily on irrigation supplied through Tarbela Dam, built on the Indus River. Any reduction in water flows in river Indus, farmers fear, could severely impact seasonal crops including wheat, rice, sugarcane and fruits like strawberries and watermelons in KP and Punjab province meaning by millions of people to be exposed to hunger and starvations.
“Water is the lifeline of agriculture and fruit orchards,” Naseer says. “If the river flows are reduced, crops like strawberries in Swabi, Swat, Mardan, and Charsadda will disappear quickly.”
Even without geopolitical tensions and IWT violations, strawberry growers are already grappling with climate-related difficulties in KP. In Charsadda, farmer like Munahmir Khan, who has been cultivating strawberries for a decade, says irregular rainfall has already affected production in his eight-kanal orchard this season, demanding interest free loans to poor farmers.
“Normally an acre yields around 450 kilograms,” he says. “But the lack of rainfall has reduced production and our daily income in Charsadda.” Extreme weather events and water shortage have also taken a toll on strawberries and melons in Charsadda. Floods in the Kabul and Swat rivers in 2022 damaged fruit fields across parts of KP, highlighting the crops vulnerability to changing climate patterns.
Agriculture and environmental experts warned that disruptions in river flows could have serious consequences for Pakistan’s farming economy and livelihood of millions of people in the region.
Professor Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad, former Chairman of the Environmental Department at the University of Peshawar, says shifting rainfall patterns and fast melting of glaciers in northern Pakistan linked to climate change are already affecting crop and fruits yields across the province. “If violations of the Indus Waters Treaty continue by India, fruit orchards, wheat, and rice production in KP, Punjab, and Sindh could face severe impacts and millions will be exposed to starvation,” he notes.
“IWT violations can create a humanitarian crisis in the region,” he said, adding weaponization of water can put peace of the subcontinent into jeopardy.
He said Pakistan relies on the Indus Basin irrigation system for more than 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture, making consistent water flows critical for national food security. Economist Professor Dr. Muhammad Zilakat Malik, former chairman of the Economics Department at the University of Peshawar, says fluctuations in water releases particularly in rivers like the Chenab by India can disrupt irrigation planning in Pakistan.
“When water is released suddenly without prior notification, Pakistan’s canal operations and reservoir management are directly affected,” he explains. “Ultimately, it is the farmer who bears the negative consequences.”
Experts stressed that Pakistan, blessed with plenty of sites on rivers for construction of dams, must accelerate hydropower projects to reduce water vulnerability. Key projects include Diamer-Bhasha Dam, expected to generate 4,500 MW of electricity, and Mohmand Dam, with a capacity of 800 MW needs quick completion while several other proposed sites along the Indus, Swat, Kabul, and Kurram rivers needs special focus in the wake of IWT violations by India.
While small dams can be completed within two to three years, larger reservoirs may take 10 to 15 years to build, the experts said, adding Pakistan is projected to require an additional 76 million acre-feet (MAF) of water by 2050 to meet rising agricultural and domestic demand.
Back in Swabi, Naseer Khan continues filling basket after basket with bright, fragrant strawberries as the morning advances and later shifts to market for sale. For him, the fruit represents far more than a seasonal delicacy but to live with dignity.
“This crop feeds our families,” he says quietly, looking across the rows of plants. “We only hope that water keeps flowing in western rivers so our fields remain alive.” For thousands of farmers across KP and Punjab, the future of Pakistan’s strawberry harvest may depend not only on weather and markets but also on the fate of the rivers that sustain their land.
