ISLAMABAD, April 7: Potato growers in Gilgit-Baltistan are on the verge of losing the kharif season as convoys of quality potato seeds remained stuck on Korakorum Highway for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday due to the sectarian strife in the region.
The Imran Khan Foundation (IKF) had dispatched 5,000 bags of certified potato seeds for distribution to small farmers. The first consignment of 500 bags of potato seeds, which was part of the Rs13 million rehabilitation plan, had already been distributed in Hunza and Nagar valleys.
The blocked potato seeds were to be distributed among small farmers in the seven districts of Gilgit, Ghizar, Skardu, Hunza Nagar, Astore, Diamer and Ghanche.
Agricultural experts warned that time was of the essence in getting a better yield and even the delay of a single day can reduce production. According to the chief executive officer of Imran Khan Foundation, Naseemur Rehman, due to high elevation and long daylight the region offered ideal location for potato cultivation. Grown in April, potato crop in the Gilgit-Baltistan will be ready for harvesting in July and August.
Mr Rehman said the investment of Rs13 million would have a multiplier effect and give farmers dividends 10 times more to the tune of Rs130 million.  The seed programme launched by the IKF is, in fact, the best intervention to provide seeds to farmers.  “It will connect farmers with the land,” he remarked.
The IKF has expressed concern over the suspension of road traffic on the Karakorum Highway and demanded that passage for humanitarian relief consignments should be given priority.
The foundation had agreed to take initiative to provide small farmers with seeds following a meeting held in Islamabad. The meeting was also attended by secretary agriculture and the deputy speaker of Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly.
The IKF has identified quality and certified seed suppliers to ensure the disease free districts of Gilgit-Baltistan which are today among the few remaining locations which are disease free.  The programme is geared to shift farmers from uncertified seeds to keep the disease-free status of high elevation districts.   Out of the total production expenses, the purchase of the quality seed carries 40 per cent of the cost, which is out of the reach of the subsistence farmers. They end up purchasing low quality seeds and are unable to break free of the vicious cycle of low quality seeds and poor yields. The foundation’s intervention would mark the start of a new era and bring far reaching impact in the remote villages which are often the last to translate results of agricultural research into their fields.