Climate Impacts on the agricultural sector of Pakistan: Risks and solutions
Areeja Syed, Taqi Raza, Talha Tufail Bhatti, Neal S. Eash
Abstract
Sixty percent of the population of Pakistan is directly or indirectly reliant upon rain-fed agriculture that depends on predictable weather patterns. Global climatic change affects our agriculture and its impacts seem to increase daily. Pakistan produces wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane, and maize and these crops are affected by climate change. Incessant escalation in earth temperatures globally is changing precipitation patterns including a shift in our monsoon season. These conditions affect agricultural production, farm livelihoods and agribusiness infrastructure that is leading to food insecurity and malnutrition among the farming communities. The aim of this review is to highlight the climate change impacts on Pakistan's agricultural sector, current risks, and mitigation potential to insure resilient agricultural practices that provide household food security.