65% of the harvest has been completely destroyed, vegetable farms and orchards look like cemeteries
KHOUSHAB:
A spell of severe frost wiped out standing tomato crops in Kathha Saghraal, Kathha Misraal and Kotli Rajgan villages in the foothills of Daman-e-Mahaar in Khushab district.
What had been thriving fields of red and green tomato plants just a day earlier were reduced to dried leaves and withered stems overnight.
Farmers said freezing temperatures caused plant cells to rupture, destroying the crop at a critical stage of maturity.
According to local estimates, more than 65% of crops have been completely destroyed. Small farmers who had taken out loans to buy seeds and fertilizer now face an uncertain future.
Vegetable farms and orchards resemble graveyards, with little hope of recovery.
Speaking to Express, local grower Malik Abdul Karim said farmers had worked tirelessly through the cold nights, applying fertilizers and maintaining their fields in the hope of a good market price this season.
“We hoped to repay our previous loans, but nature had other plans,” he lamented.
The impact is not limited to farmers alone. These areas constitute a major source of tomato supply for the Sargodha, Lahore and Rawalpindi markets, and the reduction in production is expected to push up prices sharply in the coming weeks.
Farm workers who came from distant areas to harvest crops also returned empty-handed.
Agricultural experts said frosts are not unusual in the region due to its geographic location, but this year’s intensity and timing have been exceptionally damaging. Climate change, they warn, is increasingly disrupting seasonal weather patterns.
Farmers also complained that the Agriculture Ministry failed to provide timely warnings or advice on protective measures such as smoke cover, light irrigation or plastic tunnels.
Former Khushab District Council Chairman Malik Ameer Haider Sangha Awan urged the Punjab Chief Minister to send revenue officials and agricultural experts to assess the damage and announce a special relief package for the affected farmers.
