Pakistan Floods: An Insight into Agriculture and Food Supply

To the Editor, Pakistan has experienced agricultural disasters since May 2022 as a result of rainfall-related flooding and waterlogging. The record rainfall rate witnessed in Pakistan was disastrous and marked considerable damage to crop production in the country. Being an agricultural country around 40% of the labor force relies on agriculture for employment, while the sector represents about a fifth of the economy1. The extremities of wild weather are not emancipating the country. At first, Pakistan was dealing with the heat-waves crisis and then floods. Pakistan is the 5th largest cotton producer, accounting for 5% of global output. The damage after flooding further shrinks the world’s cotton supply, prompting the agricultural sector into turmoil. Around 45% of the country’s cropland has already been deluged; vegetables and cotton crop have been wiped out completely. These are not the sole effects; flooding also creates complex abiotic stress in crops, including oxygen depletion, altered chemical characteristics of soil and reduced light availability2. The combination of all these physical and chemical changes will substantially reduce the crop’s development, growth and yield3. Food price inflation in August 2022, was highest since May 1975, and is expected to surge by another 30% due the deadly flood. The cost of edibles has increased significantly, with potatoes’ cost hiking four times, tomato’s prices surging fivefold and Ghee (a fat used for cooking) soared to 400% while onions tripled since last month. To reduce inflation steps are being taken, vegetables and other items are imported from Afghanistan and Iran. So far, more than 727,000 cattle have died, leading to a shortage of meat, milk and other dairy products. Express Tribune reported that the loss of livestock has impacted livelihood in a country where almost 8 million rural families raise cattle and their previously estimated 35-40% income came from livestock4. Climate catastrophes are readily increasing every year, with every natural disaster breaking previous records of storms, floods, drought, wildfires and earthquakes. It is vital that as a global community, we begin to address the way we treat our planet5. Our efforts must focus on building a more sustainable and green future. However, the effects of climate change will continue over the coming years, and we must learn to prepare and mitigate these disasters. Working together, responding as a community can help us build resilience and ensure that no one is left behind. We suggest that Pakistan’s will need to import more food in order to make up for lower domestic yields. Meanwhile, countries that typically depend on Pakistan's exports, like as those that export cotton and rice will need to find alternate suppliers, which will put extra pressure on the world's supply of resources. We must improve water resource management and increase agricultural productivity to enhance food security and build resilience against climate risks. The upgraded Trimmu and Panjnad barrages needs to be equipped with modern technology and must have expanded capacity to regulate the flow of water, which will subsequently protect the vast farmlands from flooding in the future.