Winter rainfall to boost wheat crop

Widespread winter rainfall is expected to significantly improve this year's agricultural output and go some way to alleviating the country's water shortage predicted by the national water authority last November. "The current rain spell is very useful and timely for the wheat crop, particularly in the rain-fed areas of the upper Punjab, including the districts of Attock, Chakwal, Jehlum and Rawalpindi, because almost 20 percent of our total wheat comes from these arid areas," Dr Munir Ahmed, an agricultural expert at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) told IRIN in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Agricultural experts had estimated a fall of 20-25 percent in wheat production in the face of a water shortage announced by the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) at the start of the season. However, the recent rains would benefit all the seasonal crops, particularly the major cash crop of wheat, experts maintained. "The recent rain spell had no significant effect on water reservoir levels. However, it would help in the conservation of water for the coming season as the provincial water requirements for the wheat crop have been reduced by up to 100 percent in the Punjab, and about 19 percent in the Sindh," the IRSA said in a statement on Wednesday. "But this year, overall water availability should improve significantly as we've received better snowfall in our northern catchment areas of the two reservoirs, Mangla and Terbela. And the contribution of the snowmelt will cover the water shortage for the summer crops in the months of April and May, which has been up to 70 percent in previous years," Muhammad Khalid Idrees Rana, a research officer at IRSA, told IRIN in Islamabad. The meteorological department of the country has predicted more rains and snowfall in the coming months. "The recent spell of rains has also alleviated the severe drought conditions prevailing in the southern province of Balochistan since late 1998. It will also help improve the groundwater table in the province," Chaudhry Qamar-uz-Zaman, head of the Pakistan's Met office, told IRIN in Islamabad. Although the rains are a boost for farmers torrential rains and heavy snowfall in northern Pakistan have disrupted the communications network and the severe cold has kept people at home. According to weather forecasters, more snow is expected in the northeastern districts of Chitral and Gilgit.