3,700 farmers in Pakistan's Balochistan province sow drought-tolerant wheat seed

I used to water my wheat 10 to 12 times a season. I gave this new seed half the amount of water and still tripled my yield.

When his new wheat seed began to grow, Abdul Khaliq, a farmer in Pakistan's vast Balochistan province, wasn't sure he had done the right thing by switching from the species he traditionally sowed. The young wheat crop looked shorter than in previous seasons, and Khaliq was concerned it would not produce as much grain. He need not have worried.

Khaliq, from Mahool Baloch village in Loralai district, is one of 3,700 farmers across three Balochistan districts helped by a component of a three-year USAID program to promote better management of land and water. An eight-year drought has hobbled many Baloch farmers, most of whom rely on subsis-tence food crops or small-scale cash crops. In a USAID initiative aimed at providing quality seeds at an affordable price, farmers received 450 tons of an improved variety of irrigated wheat procured by a USAID partner, the Food and Agriculture Organization. The variety is drought-tolerant, resistant to diseases and has a higher yield potential than the area's traditionally grown varieties. With field owners' consent, USAID planted the new seed on fields by the roadside so that its higher yield would catch communities' attention. While such field-owners received the seed at no cost, farmers like Khaliq bought the wheat at 50 percent of its cost, with the rest paid for by USAID.

Sowing 150 kg of the new seed yielded 4,000 kg of wheat for Khaliq, about three times the amount he would usually grow. Although its stalks were short, each new seed sprouted eight stalks of wheat rather than the usual five, and each stalk bore twice as much grain. "There's a big difference in the quality of the grain," Khaliq said. "The height is shorter, but the profit is higher." Nor did Khaliq need to water the crop as often. "I used to water my wheat 10 to 12 times a season," he said. This time, he watered half as often. Water usage improved because of the seed variety as well as increased farmer awareness. "Many farmers were wasting up to 70 percent of their water," said Dr. Aijaz Hussain, a national water resource management expert. "We taught them how to control irrigation methods."

Showing off plump bundles of wheat, Khaliq said that this year, his 30 household members would not need to buy their usual extra six to eight sacks to meet their needs. That gave them a savings of at least 7,500 rupees ($125), he said, pleased.