Arsalan Ali

The recent flash floods triggered by the monsoon rains have devastated standing crops, displaced millions of people, and disrupted the supply chain, spiking the prices of essential goods, reports WealthPK. Talking to WealthPK, Akbar Khan, Research Officer at the Quetta-based Water Management and High Efficiency, said floods had devastated the agriculture sector, displacing millions of people in Balochistan, Sindh, KP, and South Punjab. He said the gushing flood waters had washed away the standing crops in flood-hit areas.

Dr. Akbar said floods had destroyed crops of rice and vegetables, including onion and tomato. Khairpur district of Sindh, home to dates and palm trees, suffered a colossal damage. The total cultivated area of cotton, rice, date, onion, and tomato in Sindh was 3,263,864 acres, of which 2,661,501 acres were swept away and the accumulated loss was recorded at PKR276,283.06 million.

Akbar said cotton, rice, date, onion and tomato were cultivated on 1,467,579, 1,483,174, 101,379, 151,227, and 60,505 acres respectively. The total cultivated area of cotton and date palm has completely damaged. In addition, rice, onion, and tomato crops were damaged by 70%, 28%, and 20% respectively. The crops of sugarcane, Kharif chilies, and Kharif vegetables were cultivated on 748,498 acres out of which 105,547 acres were destroyed.

Akbar said Sindh suffered the worst in terms of losses, as the homes and other belongings of the people had been swept away, with the risk of outbreak of water-borne diseases looming large over the province. The prices of many essential goods have skyrocketed in many areas of Sindh and Balochistan. Akbar further said for crops that were damaged by floods, import was essential to keep the prices stable on the domestic market. He said the government should provide a complete relief package to the affected people.

Talking to WealthPK, Suleman Akram, Research Associate at the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), said rice and cotton exports would be affected due to the floods, adding that cotton was the major input used in the textile sector and rice exports earned foreign revenues. He said textile sector was a major contributor to exports in the previous fiscal (FY22), and necessary steps should be taken by the government to fulfil the export target for the current fiscal.

Zahoor Ahmed told WealthPK that he and his family had to shift to his brother's house in Islamabad because his house and all belongings had been swept away in Khairpur. Zahoor said his cotton and palm orchards were destroyed, causing him an estimated loss of more than PKR20 million. He said the compensation being provided to the flood-affected people was not enough to meet their losses. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NNDMA), 1,634 people have injured in various rain and flood-related incidents, while over 735,375 cattle have been lost. Additionally, over 3,451 kilometers of roads, 149 bridges, 170 shops, and 949,858 houses have been damaged across the country.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk