A farmer plows his field with bulls in Perowal as rising fuel prices and farming costs force small-scale producers to return to traditional farming methods. Photo: Express
PEROWAL:
Rising inflation, soaring costs of agricultural inputs and the global energy crisis have forced small farmers in the Perowal region to abandon modern mechanized farming and return to traditional methods using oxen instead of tractors.
In what many describe as a symbolic step backwards in agricultural progress, fields that once echoed with the sound of tractors now see wooden plows pulled by oxen.
Farmers say the shift reflects growing financial pressure that is making modern farming increasingly unaffordable.
The agricultural sector, long considered the backbone of the rural economy, is currently facing severe challenges due to rising prices of diesel and gasoline, expensive fertilizers and increasing operating costs.
Farmers can now be seen plowing their fields under the scorching sun, shoulders bent, bodies drenched in sweat and feet dug into the ground as they return to traditional, labor-intensive farming practices.
Farmer Mazhar Siyal said that although the land and fields remain unchanged, increasing expenses and limited resources have left them with no option but to revert to the old ways.
“The land is the same, the fields are the same, but our resources are decreasing and costs are increasing. That is why we are forced to adopt traditional agriculture again,” he said.
Another farmer, Mian Afzal, said the rising cost of fuel left him with no choice. “High prices of petrol and diesel have forced us to go back to old ways. It takes more time and effort, but at least it reduces financial pressure. At current costs, even meeting household expenses has become difficult,” he said.
Agricultural experts warn that if energy prices and input costs are not controlled, it could have serious consequences for farmers’ incomes, crop yields and national food security. Numberdar Association district president Shafiq Ahmad urged the government to introduce a ‘Kisan Khushhaal Scheme’ with subsidies on fertilizers, pesticides and agricultural machinery.
“If this situation continues, farmers may no longer be able to grow their crops.
The government must take urgent measures to save the agricultural sector from collapse,” he warned.
Farmer Muhammad Faiz said the return to beef farming was more than just an agricultural shift: it reflected economic hardship.
“We are once again walking a path that we had left behind us long ago, thinking that it belonged to the past,” he said.
