Where the Glaciers Shift, the Orchards Feel It First

For the cherry and dried fruit growers of Hunza, changing weather is not an abstract subject. Flash floods, glacial lake outburst floods, warmer seasons and rainfall that no longer arrives when it used to have all reached the orchards of Nasirabad and Aliabad. On 1 and 2 August 2026, 60 women farmers from the Mountain Area Fruit Farmers Association spent two days working through what those changes mean for their plots, and what they can do about them.

The training was organised by the Mountain Area Fruit Farmers Association with the support of Fairtrade NAPP, and was facilitated by two experts from the Faculty of Life Sciences at Karakoram International University (KIU), Gilgit. The sessions were interactive by design, with participants bringing observations from their own orchards into the discussion on the impacts of climate change on mountain agriculture, on adaptation measures suited to Gilgit-Baltistan, and on the place of women in farm decisions.

Making Sense of a Changing Mountain Climate

The opening session, led by Dr. Khan, set out how rising temperatures, unpredictable precipitation and the retreat of glaciers are reshaping livelihoods in rural mountain communities, particularly subsistence farming and livestock rearing. The value for participants was in the connection it allowed them to make. Instead of reading each difficult season as bad luck, farmers could place what they see on their own land within a wider pattern, which makes it possible to plan ahead rather than respond after the damage is done. The same session moved directly to options within reach of a smallholding: diversifying sources of income, moving to crop varieties that cope better with heat and water stress, and using water more carefully across the growing season.

"Farmers in Hunza are facing the impacts of climate change directly, with flash floods and glacial lake outburst floods affecting our communities more and more. Raising awareness across the community and strengthening our preparedness is what will reduce the risks we live with."

– Ms. Gulsoori, 42, farmer,
Mountain Area Fruit Farmers Association / Mountain Fruits (Pvt) Limited, Pakistan

Giving the Crop a Stronger Start

Dr. Azhar Hussain, Consultant on Agriculture and Food Security, took participants through the relationship between climate change, agriculture and food security, and then narrowed in on the point where many seasons are won or lost: germination and early crop establishment. Participants examined the use of indigenous and climate-resilient seed varieties and pre-sowing seed treatments that improve germination and seedling vigour under changing conditions. For households farming small plots within a short mountain growing window, a stronger start means fewer gaps in the planting and more usable fruit at the end of the season. Seed selection is work these women already lead, and the session added technical grounding to choices they make every year.

Holding Water and Managing Heat on Small Mountain Plots

A second set of practical measures dealt with the soil and the growing environment. Participants worked through organic mulching and moisture conservation techniques that improve soil health and water retention, and microclimate management through raised-bed cultivation, tunnel farming and efficient irrigation methods. These are measures that can be tested on part of a plot before being applied more widely, which matters for households that cannot risk a full season on an untried method. The discussion extended to post-harvest handling, where better practice reduces losses between the tree and the buyer and protects the value of fruit that has already been grown.

"Smart and precision agriculture practices need to reach Hunza so that farmers can adapt to the conditions we are seeing now. With modern technology and climate-smart techniques, I am confident we can improve productivity, use our resources better and stand stronger against the challenges ahead."

– Ms. Farzana, 33, farmer from Aliabad,
Mountain Area Fruit Farmers Association / Mountain Fruits (Pvt) Limited, Pakistan

Women's Knowledge Named as Central to the Farm

Both facilitators were direct about the fact that women in Hunza already carry much of the work that decides a season's outcome: seed selection, crop production, post-harvest management and household food security. Naming that contribution in a room of 60 women farmers changed the frame of the conversation. From there, participants discussed what equal access to agricultural resources, climate information, training opportunities and decision-making would look like in practice, and why inclusive participation is part of how climate adaptation works rather than a separate subject beside it. For the Mountain Area Fruit Farmers Association, the training also feeds into its wider work on women's participation and leadership within the organisation.

A Working Link with Karakoram International University

One outcome had less to do with any single session and more to do with who was in the room. The two days connected women farmers directly with academic experts based in Gilgit, working on the same terrain the farmers cultivate. That link opens the way to knowledge exchange, joint work on local adaptation questions and further training drawn from research carried out in Gilgit-Baltistan itself. The collaboration between the Mountain Area Fruit Farmers Association, Fairtrade NAPP and KIU offers a model that other producer organisations in the region can look to.

Carrying the Learning Across the Valleys of Hunza

Participants and organisers identified clear next steps. Community-based environmental trainings are to be held regularly across Hunza so that the learning reaches beyond two locations. Local solutions and indigenous knowledge already proven in these valleys are to be documented so they can be shared and scaled rather than staying with individual households. And women farmers are to have stronger access to the resources that make adaptation possible, including seed banks and microfinance for climate-resilient inputs.

Adapting to a changing climate in a mountain region is long work, and a two-day training is one step within it. What the participants carry back to Nasirabad and Aliabad is a set of measures they can test on their own plots this season, and a connection to experts they can return to with questions.