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