Sajid Irfan

The recent monstrous floods in different areas of Pakistan are feared to cause food crises as the torrents have destroyed millions of acres of agricultural land in the country, WealthPK reports.

The unprecedented floods have caused damage to every sector, but agriculture is the worst affected industry as more than 9.4 million acres of farmland and nearly 80% to 90% of the crops in the country have been destroyed. The havoc caused by flooding has brought many problems including food crises. The food shortage can affect all parts of the country.

An official of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research told WealthPK that the heavy floods would cause food crises in Pakistan. “Nearly all of the country’s crops along with thousands of livestock have perished. The flood survivors need food items. The impact of the food crises will be felt all over Pakistan. There is a very limited supply of food and vegetables due to floods,” he said.

He said that according to the estimates of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), about 9.4 million acres of agricultural farms have been destroyed by the floods in the country. “Of the destroyed farmlands, 4.8 million acres are in Sindh, 2.7 million acres in Punjab, 1.2 million acres in Baluchistan and 0.7 million acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.

The official said that the floods also washed away standing crops over a vast area. He said that the shortage of food items caused an increase in the prices of edibles at a time when the purchasing power of people in the country was already affected badly.“Food and agriculture experts fear that the food crises would turn worse in the coming days. The prices of all food items will continue to increase in the coming days. Inflation has already crossed the mark of 30 percent and people are striving to make both ends meet,” he said.

The official said that the food shortage was compounded by reduced accessibility to edibles. By submerging land, sweeping away stores of feed and seed, and destroying irrigation systems, the floods hindered agricultural production and deprived rural communities of their sources of livelihood, he added.

He said that the supply of vegetables and other food items to market was very limited due to the destruction of infrastructure in the country by the devastating floods. Almost 13,000 kilometres of roads have been completely washed away in the country. The floods also demolished the railway track linking Balochistan to other provinces.

The official said that wheat is Pakistan’s top food crop and its annual cultivation season would begin soon. More than 90% of Pakistani households are wheat consumers. However, the flood-affected farmers fear that they will not be able to cultivate their lands for the next three months. Pakistan will have to import food items from other countries, which will increase the prices of commodities and worsen the country’s balance of payments crisis.

“International aid is also trickling in. The World Food Programme is working to extend assistance to Pakistan to support about half a million people in the worst-hit provinces of Balochistan and Sindh. Relief will be provided to farmers, who have suffered huge losses. Taxes would be waived off for Kharif season 2022 by the revenue department,” said the official.

He said that food crises in Pakistan would have international implications. “The country is the fourth-largest rice exporter in the world,” he told WealthPK.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk