KURRAM: Farmers in Kurram district are facing severe difficulties due to a shortage of urea fertiliser, raising fears that delays in its supply could adversely affect wheat and other crops during the current sowing season.

Farmers said timely availability of urea was essential for healthy crop growth and maintaining agricultural productivity. They warned that the persistent shortage could further undermine the already struggling agriculture sector in the district.

They said years of terrorism and insecurity in the tribal region had disrupted the supply of agricultural inputs, particularly urea fertiliser, causing heavy losses to farmers and forcing many to abandon cultivation.

Israr Bangash, president of the farmers’ association in Parachinar, told Dawn that the shortage of urea over the past several years had left large areas of agricultural land in Kurram barren.

He said farmers had suffered poor yields last year because of the unavailability of fertiliser, while the current shortage had also delayed wheat cultivation during the ongoing sowing season.

“Despite repeated requests to the government and other relevant authorities, the required fertiliser has not been made available to farmers,” he said, warning that further delays could seriously affect this year’s crops.

Jamil Hussain Bangash, a local farmer, said the supply problem had persisted for years, with urea often reaching the market after the appropriate time for its application.

He alleged that when supplies eventually arrived, dealers sold the fertiliser at higher prices, making it unaffordable for small farmers with limited financial resources.

He said the shortage and high prices had adversely affected cultivation, with some fields becoming unproductive because farmers were repeatedly unable to obtain the necessary inputs.

He urged the government and relevant authorities to ensure the immediate availability of urea at affordable prices so that wheat and other crops could be sown and cultivated on time.

Another farmer, Malik Sher Zaman, said agricultural production had remained extremely low last year because of the fertiliser shortage, resulting in substantial financial losses for farmers.

He feared that if the situation persisted, many farmers would again be unable to cultivate wheat, leaving large areas of farmland uncultivated. He added that declining agricultural activity was also contributing to unemployment, as farming provided livelihoods for a significant proportion of the district’s population.

Youth leader Malik Zartaj told Dawn that a large proportion of Kurram’s population depended on agriculture for its livelihood. He warned that if urea was not supplied to farmers on time this year, as in previous years, he would mobilise them to stage a protest against the shortage.

He urged the authorities to ensure the immediate supply of urea to prevent further losses to farmers and protect agricultural production in the district.

Upper Kurram Assistant Commissioner Khalid Imran told Dawn that efforts were under way to address the shortage. He said the administration was aware of the need to ensure the timely availability of fertiliser to farmers, adding that the problem was not confined to Kurram but also affected other tribal districts.

He said the administration had held meetings with fertiliser dealers and urged them to ensure the earliest possible supply of fertilisers not subject to restrictions.

Fertilisers whose supply was currently restricted would also be made available to farmers through dealers soon, he added.

He said the district administration had stepped up efforts to ensure that fertiliser reached farmers before the sowing season progressed further.

Kurram is an important agricultural district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where wheat, peanuts, beans and several other crops are cultivated. A considerable quantity of its agricultural produce is also supplied to other parts of the country.

However, farmers said persistent fertiliser shortages and disruptions to agricultural activities had severely affected the sector over the past several years. They warned that unless the government took effective measures to ensure a timely and affordable supply of urea, agricultural production could decline further, threatening farmers’ livelihoods and the future of farming in the district.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2026