PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 6th Mar, 2026) As the soft golden rays of the morning sun spread across the fertile fields of Tehsil Razar district of Swabi district, 40-year-old progressive farmer Naseer Khan starts his day long before most farmers arrive to pick the strawberries that are being sold.
Like a hot cake during breakfast.
Moments after the dawn call to prayer the prayerNaseer and his brothers walk through the fertile five-acre strawberry field in Sheikh Jana village, holding baskets in their hands in the hope of earning maximum capital. The holy month of Ramadan has seen demand for strawberries rise sharply, making the delicate fruit a prized item on many iftar tables in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“After dawn prayers, I come to the fields with my father and brothers to pick strawberries before the sun gets too strong,” Naseer says as he adjusts his traditional turban and carefully places the bright red fruit into the woven baskets. For farmers like him, the current harvest season brings opportunity and anxiety.
Strawberries have quietly become one of the most profitable seasonal crops for farmers in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces. It is grown on raised beds with high agricultural density, often exceeding 70,000 plants per acre, as the crop provides amazing returns, especially during the month of Ramadan.
These days, strawberries are sold for around Rs 500 per kg in the local market Prices The price usually falls to Rs 100 per kg by April as supply increases in Peshawar.
“With good management and proper irrigation, one acre can produce between 15,000 and 17,000 kilograms,” Naseer explains. “Farmers can earn more than Rs 1 lakh per acre if things go well, especially irrigation.”
Naseer’s optimism about the future harvest is clouded by growing concern about water availability in the wake of India’s illegal announcement last year to suspend the historic Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). In accordance with the Treaty, including the international community India It has accepted Pakistan’s right to water in the Indus, Chanab and Jhelum rivers, and no country can unilaterally suspend or stop this right.
Agriculture in the Swabi region depends heavily on irrigation which is provided by the Tarbela Dam, built on the Indus River. Farmers fear that any reduction in water flow in the Indus River could severely impact seasonal crops including wheat, rice, sugarcane and fruits such as strawberries and watermelon in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Punjab province, meaning millions of people could go hungry and famine.
“Water is the lifeblood of agriculture and orchards,” says Naseer. “If river flows decrease, crops such as strawberries in Swabi, Swat, Mardanand Charsadda will quickly disappear. “Even without geopolitical tensions and IWT violations, strawberry farmers are already facing climate-related difficulties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In Charsadda, a farmer like Munahmir Khan, who has been growing strawberries for a decade, says erratic rainfall has already affected production at his eight-kanal orchard this season, and is demanding interest-free loans from poor farmers.
“An acre usually yields about 450 kilograms,” he says. “But lack of rain has reduced production and our daily income in Charsadda.
“Extreme weather events and water shortages have also affected strawberries and watermelons in Charsadda. Floods have also affected Kabul and Pakistan. Swat Rivers in 2022 destroyed fruit fields in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, highlighting the vulnerability of crops to changing climate patterns.
Agricultural and environmental experts have warned that disruption of river flows could have dire consequences for Pakistan’s agricultural economy and the livelihoods of millions of people in the region.
Professor Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed, former head of the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of PeshawarHe says changing rainfall patterns and rapid melting of glaciers in the north Pakistan Associated climate change is already affecting crop and fruit yields across the province. “If India continues to violate the Indus Waters Treaty, the production of orchards, wheat and rice in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh may face serious impacts and millions will face famine,” he points out.
“Violations of international water rights could create a humanitarian crisis in the region,” he said, adding that the use of water as a weapon could jeopardize peace in the Indian subcontinent. Pakistan depends on the Indus Basin irrigation system for more than 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture, making continuous water flow critical to the national economy, he said. food protection.
Fluctuations in water release especially in rivers like the Chenab River in India can disrupt irrigation planning in Pakistan, says economics professor Dr Muhammad Zillakat Malik, former head of the Department of Economics at Peshawar University.
“When water is suddenly released without prior notice, Pakistan Canal operations and reservoir management are directly affected,” he explains. “Ultimately, it is the farmer who bears the negative consequences.”
Experts stressed that Pakistan, which is blessed with many sites on rivers for building dams, must accelerate hydropower projects to reduce water vulnerability. Key projects include the Diamer Basha Dam, which is expected to generate 4,500 MW of electricity, and the 800 MW Mohmand Dam, which needs to be completed quickly, while several other proposed sites along the Indus, Swat, Kabul and Kurram rivers need special focus in the wake of India’s violations of international transport rights.
While small dams can be completed in two to three years, construction of larger reservoirs could take 10 to 15 years, experts said, adding that Pakistanis are expected to need an additional 76 million acre-feet of water by 2050 to meet growing agricultural and domestic demand.
In Swabi, Naseer Khan continues to fill basket after basket with bright, fragrant strawberries as the morning progresses and later moves to the market to sell. For him, fruit represents much more than just a seasonal delicacy, but rather represents living with dignity.
“This crop feeds our families,” he says quietly, looking through the rows of plants. “We just hope the western rivers keep flowing so our fields stay alive.” For thousands of farmers across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, the future of Pakistan’s strawberry crop may depend not only on weather and markets, but also on the fate of the rivers that support their farmlands to prosperity.