Mangoes are usually a source of national pride and much-needed income for Pakistan with mango crop, but this season’s crop has been ruined by pests and extreme weather that farmers say are caused by climate change.
A farmer named Muhammad Yusuf complained about the unpredictable weather while wearing a white and orange scarf around his head. It was very hot outside.
After an unusually long winter, April was the coldest in decades. Now, the country is in the middle of a heatwave with temperatures reaching as high as 52 degrees Celsius (126 degrees Fahrenheit).
Mango Crop
“A lot of buds just died because they didn’t flower on time on Mango Crop.” “Those that started to grow had black hopper (parasite) on them,” Yusuf, who has grown mangoes for half his life, said.
Pakistan grows the fourth most mangoes in the world, and farming makes up almost a fifth of its GDP.
The 20 different kinds of Mango Crop grown in Pakistan are the second most common fruit in the country, after oranges.
People who own land will make less money this year, said Ali, a Farmer, whose wife has started trading clothes to make extra money.
“And even if they paid us as much as last year, with inflation, we won’t be able to feed our families.”