The agriculture and livestock sectors of Pakistan are worst affected by the deluge caused by the monstrous torrential rains over the months of July and August, inundating vast swathes of cropland and killing tens of thousands of cattle across the four provinces.

According to a report available with WealthPK, the monsoon rains and subsequent gushing floodwaters destroyed over 700 animal sheds, damaged over 590, washed away over 86,000 rural poultry birds, and destroyed or damaged scores of poultry sheds across the four provinces.

Balochistan, which is the most battered province, has seen the worst destruction of its livestock infrastructure, as over 580 animal sheds were destroyed and over 410 damaged. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follows as far as the destruction to animal sheds is concerned as the mauling floodwaters washed away 61 animal sheds and damaged another 84. Over 50 animal sheds in Sindh were destroyed and 90 damaged.

The report estimated the initial losses caused by the deluge to agriculture and livestock alone to be around Rs320 billion. Cotton, maize, sugarcane, oilseeds and seasonal pulses standing over millions of hectares of land have been inundated by floodwaters. Besides, the devastating floods have killed around 800,000 animals in all the four provinces. Crops standing over 14,390 acres have been bludgeoned by the recent floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk