Unlike rich, Pakistan’s poor farmers face uphill battle with climate extremes

 BAKRANI, LARKANA:

Since his father died in 2011, Moeez Assadullah has been looking after his family’s farm alone.

The 21-year-old tends the 3 hectares of land without the help of his two brothers, who lost interest in farming when they realised that more erratic weather was making agriculture an unreliable source of income.

Pakistan passes climate change act, reviving hopes and scepticism

They now work at a brick kiln in the nearby town of Larkana. But Assadullah has taken a risk, and come up with his own plan to adapt to shifting weather patterns.

Three years ago he stopped growing rice on the farm in Bakrani, a village a few miles from Larkana. The crop was too labour intensive, and took too long to get to harvest, he said. Now he squeezes out a living for his family cultivating vegetables that grow more quickly and require less water.