Floods destroy crops in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - The devastation caused by flash floods in Pakistan is likely to result in severe food shortage across the country in the next couple of months as crops spread over 10 million acres have been destroyed.

In Punjab alone, cotton, sugarcane and other crops worth more than Rs.80 billion have been destroyed because of flooding. Punjab, being the largest and most fertile province, is the largest food provider as well. In Sindh, crops have been completely washed away and the urban areas have already started feeling the pinch.

Prices of fruits and vegetable have already gone up because of the shortage as the supply from troubled areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh has dried up. Wheat godowns of the government in several areas have also been inundated.

Hoarding by traders in the month of Ramadan has made the situation even worse. The federal government apparently is contemplating the need to import certain food items to meet the crunch. However, no decision in this regard has yet been taken.

Livestock numbering in thousands have died or have been starving due to shortage of fodder. In a country where more than 70 percent population lives in rural areas, livestock is a major source of earning. It also supplies a large chunk of meat and milk to urban areas.

Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has said that small farmers having up to 25 acres of land will be provided seeds and fertilizers free of cost. He said that efforts were also being undertaken to provide fodder to the cattle so that the livestock industry could be sustained.