The recent torrential rains have inundated the cropland of south-eastern province of Sindh, inflicting a loss of $1.7 billion, according to a study conducted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountains Development (ICIMOD) and Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), reports WealthPK.

Titled "The 2022 Pakistan floods: Assessment of crop losses in Sindh province using satellite data", the study, available with WealthPK, used satellite imagery to assess potential losses of major crops at the sub district-level in order to support the government’s rehabilitation and compensation planning processes in the province. Sindh accounts for 42% of rice, 23% of cotton, and 31% of sugarcane production.

"The 2022 Pakistan floods caused unprecedented damage to crops, livestock, and infrastructure, including storage facilities with millions of tonnes of grain, posing the risk of an unprecedented food security crisis in the country. The floods struck before the harvesting stage of key crops, including cotton, rice, and sugarcane," says the study.

The study shows that as per the satellite images acquired during August 22-28, the flood waters directly inundated about 2.5 million hectares of land (over 18% of Sindh’s total area), obstructing access and mobility in around three-fourths of the province’s area.

The most affected areas included northwestern districts of Jacobabad, Larkana, Shikarpur, and Kashmore. Satellite data of September 3 revealed that the expansion of flood water was continuing due to the water coming from the western mountain region of Balochistan. In addition, the discharge at Guddu Barrage was increasing, resulting in additional flooding in the Indus River.

"The total agricultural area of Sindh is about 4.9 million hectares. In summer (kharif) season, three commercial crops – rice, cotton, and sugarcane – are grown in most of the area. The inundation is highest in the rice crop zone resulting in an overall estimated loss of 1.9 million tons, or a 80% loss of the expected total rice production. Sugarcane is predominantly grown in the north-eastern districts, where inundation remained relatively lower. The damage amounted to 10.5 million tons, or a 61% loss of the expected production of sugarcane. Like the sugarcane zone, the cotton zone also received relatively lesser inundation," says the report.

According to ICIMOD, the cotton zone received several exceptionally high daily rainfall spells, which almost completely devastated crops at maturity (with cracked cotton balls).

"We expect a loss of about 88% of the total expected cotton production (3.1 million bales) as a result of flood inundation and exceptionally high rainfall in the cotton-growing areas of Sindh," says the ICIMOD.

Three crops faced a direct loss of $1.3 billion (rice: $543 million, cotton: $485 million, sugarcane: $273 million). In addition, three key vegetable crops – tomato, onion, and chilli – faced losses totalling $374 million in the affected districts, with the highest losses in Thatta, Badin, and Mirpur.

The research also studied the livestock losses and estimated that the floods had killed 42,273 livestock, including sheep, goats, camels, cows, buffaloes, and donkeys, causing a direct loss of around $13 million.

"The economic losses in agriculture are much beyond the estimated direct losses to crop production and livestock. Direct damages and losses to agriculture tools and machinery, infrastructure in farms and rural areas, and trees are likely to compound the economic losses," it says.

‘’The government’s rehabilitation and compensation support are likely to have deeper and long-term impacts on Pakistan’s agriculture due to the indirect costs involved in draining and land rehabilitation, losses in successive crop cycles due to water logging and delays in sowing. This rapid assessment does not cover other agricultural losses such as the loss of agriculture infrastructure and equipment and disruption in agriculture services."

The total agricultural area in the province is 4.9 million hectares with food and cash crops grown in 60% and 25% of the total cultivated land, respectively. Major crops – rice, sugarcane cotton, beans, vegetables (tomato, chilli, onion, okra, and cucurbitaceous vegetables); and fruits (mango, banana, and papaya) – are grown during the summer (kharif) season.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk