Guava farmer Haralal Halder, in his 45 years of farming profession in coastal Bangladesh, had never experienced a drought-like spell with soaring temperatures during April-May period, the flowering season, until the past couple of years. In 2023 and this year, excessive heat caused the premature abscission of one-third of the blossoms in the trees of his 0.53-hectare (1.33-acre) guava (Psidium guajava L.) orchard in Pirojpur, a district in the coastal Barisal division of Bangladesh. For more than two centuries, Barisal division has been famous for producing popular local guava varieties including Purnamandali, Swarupkathi and Palalata. “The weather change is unprecedented. The blossoms die due to late arrival of monsoon,” Haralal told Mongabay in September, the last harvesting month for local guava varieties cultivated in Barisal. Similar to those in Bangladesh, guava farmers in India and Pakistan have also been facing unfavorable weather conditions including changing rainfall patterns for more than five years, several studies revealed. According to Seoul-based agricultural market data processor Tridge, these three South Asian countries produce almost half of the global production of the tropical fruit. In 2019, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Agriculture Centre (SAC) reported that agriculture in the region would face unpredictable and frequent climate change events like changing rainfall patterns. According to the report, India and Pakistan are vulnerable to increased variability in rainfall patterns, while Bangladesh’s hydrological cycle, particularly rainfall, will be “more erratic.” (Left) Guava farmer Haralal Halder. (Right) Farmers make their way to Bhimruli guava market to…This article was originally published on Mongabay
