ISLAMABAD/LAHORE, PAKISTAN:
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has issued a grim warning regarding the extensive flood damages in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, cautioning that the destruction will severely impact the upcoming Rabi cultivation. The agency’s preliminary assessment highlights an immediate threat to the availability of wheat seed for the 2025-26 season, potentially deepening Pakistan’s food security challenges.
Agricultural Sector Faces Devastating Blow
In its report released on Monday, the FAO stated that the recent floods inundated over 1.3 million hectares of land, including more than 0.93 million hectares of standing crops and critical agricultural infrastructure. Punjab has been the worst-hit province, suffering extensive damage to rice, cotton, and sugarcane crops.
- Seed Availability Crisis: The report noted that half of the wheat seed comes from saved grain, much of which was lost in flooded homesteads. While the formal sector holds 80 to 90 percent of the required seed, market pressures and rising prices may compel farmers to sell their saved seed as grain, thus cutting national availability for the crucial Rabi sowing season.
- Livestock at High Risk: Floodwaters have crippled fodder supplies, driving up costs and creating severe access issues in remote areas. With only 45 percent of fodder seed available formally, and many livestock owners resorting to “distress sales,” the nutrition and health risks for the six-million-plus livestock population in Thar and other affected regions are critically high.
- Disease Outbreak Warning: The FAO warned that stagnant water and overcrowded shelters create conditions favourable for outbreaks of diseases like Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), Foot-and-Mouth Disease, and other zoonotic infections (diseases transmissible from animals to humans). LSD outbreaks are already spreading northward from southern Punjab, with new cases reported in districts like Pakpattan and Khanewal.
Damage Assessment and Public Complaints
In the meantime, the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has directed survey teams to prioritise public complaints while assessing losses in the flood-affected areas across the province. PDMA data shows river flows returning to normal levels, indicating a significant decline in flood-affected areas. However, displaced persons in Jalalpur Pirwala were asked to vacate schools being used as relief camps to allow classes to resume, highlighting the difficult balance between relief and returning to normalcy.
Separately, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted intermittent rain, wind, and thundershowers in south-eastern Sindh until October 2, which could exacerbate conditions in already damaged areas.
FAO’s Crop-wise Damage Quantification in Punjab (in hectares):
