The single crop a year- communities of high lands – By: Prof. Rahmat Karim Baig
The northern part of Pakistan is a land of mountains. Here the three famous mountain chains occupy the whole area with numerous cultural communities. Most of these are agro based identities but there is a good segment with pastoral pursuits such as the Gujar and the nomadic tribes who head to the mountains in April from the plain areas, spend their summers in the high land pastures and return back to the plains in October- they are not permanent residents but the majority including the Gujar herders live in the mountain valleys and slopes all the year and hold farm lands and pastures for grazing flocks and thus earn but insufficient food which they supplement with work on daily wage basis in projects in various parts of the country such as the miners in the coal mines in Darra Adam Khel or Balochistan or in the housing societies in the satellite towns around big cities.
The communities living as bona fide residents in the higher regions i.e. above 6500 ft. have got poor natural resources except the forest covered parts. In the forest areas they get comparatively better resources as fire wood and fodder for their livestock but in the barren hills and higher valleys of Hindu Kush and Karakorum the numerous tribes have no access to better natural resources. They are surrounded by natural constraints- very cold winters, less fire wood, less fodder for livestock, poor harvest- wheat, barley, corn, paddy, beans etc. only as subsistence farming. Purchasing Fertilizers is very costly due to high transportation charges.
In the mountainous valleys below 6500 ft. the farmers get double crops a year and thus even smaller farms produce enough or close to enough cereals for the families. They also need less firewood stock and get enough sunshine but above that level the barren hillsides have very poor vegetation for flocks hence raising sheep or goats in larger number is quite impossible. They even purchase hay from the market for their cattle. The total amount of cereal per family is quite insufficient and supply from government depots is the only alternative but this is now very costly –around Rs. 12000/- per 100 kg bag. It is much beyond the purchasing power of the consumer. On the other hand the growth rate of population is not in control and this aspect of overpopulation has redoubled the food problem as the land distribution and redistribution among the growing family members has minimized the yield per family.
In this scenario the situation is getting grim from year to year. The role of government functionaries is getting weaker and weaker due to political instability. The role of NGOs cannot be depended in the light of the experience of the past whereas the impact of climate change has hit this area very badly in the shape of flush floods, river erosions, land slide, crop and fruit diseases because the Agriculture department as well as the NGO allocation is negligible.
It is therefore, important to mention here that the price of wheat at the government depots should be subsidized to the population living in the single crop zones of North Pakistan and this part of the country should be declared as ‘SPECIAL ZONE’ for its poor natural resources. This includes Parts of Malakand division, Hazara division and Gilgit Baltistan.
Prof. Rahmat Karim Baig
