Over 1.31 million hectares of land destroyed: FAO

ISLAMABAD: Over 1.31 million hectares of the cultivated area have been destroyed by floods in the four provinces and Azad Kashmir, according to the preliminary rapid damage assessment carried out by the United Nations.

According to a report released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Monday, the highest loss was recorded in Punjab where about 661,637 hectares of land with standing crops were destroyed, followed by Sindh where the loss was recorded at 357,372 hectares, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 191,020 hectares and Azad Kashmir 92,370 hectares.

The report fears that crop damage would lead to food insecurity and high prices in the country.

Cotton, sugarcane, fodder and rice were the worst affected crops. Cotton crop on a total of 415,905 hectares in 39 districts of Punjab, Sindh and KP has been destroyed.

The FAO said that affected communities also suffered heavy losses in livestock and infrastructure sectors and called for delivery of immediate relief and an action plan to provide assistance on short-, medium- and long-term basis.

Cotton growers have suffered enormous losses at a critical stage of production.

Sugarcane, being the second most important cash crop after cotton in Sindh and Punjab during the Kharif season, was badly affected. The loss of sugarcane crop has been estimated at a cumulative total of 126,525 hectares in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The sugarcane crop damage will contribute to an already strained fodder shortage.

Rice, one of the major Kharif cereal crops in Punjab, Sindh and KP, was also badly hit. The report estimated a loss of 367,270 hectares of rice crop in all the four provinces.

Floods caused huge damage to the standing crop of maize in all the provinces, except Sindh where it is cultivated as the summer fodder. In KP and Punjab, the loss has been estimated to be 57,673 hectares in 39 of the 125 districts of the two provinces.

The crops of Mung and Mash pulses over 57,673 hectares in 39 districts of KP, Punjab and Sindh have been lost.

The loss of fodder crops (sorghum, maize and millets) has been estimated to be 119,431 hectares in Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh.

Vegetables grown over 56,204 hectares of land in the four provinces and Azad Kashmir have been destroyed.

Major fruit orchards which suffered heavy losses include mango, citrus and guava in Punjab; apple and peach in KP and banana in Sindh.

Citrus orchards on 4,731 hectares and mango orchards on 20,268 hectares have been damaged in Punjab.

Of the damage to other types of orchards, KP suffered the most with 4745 hectares, followed by Sindh 3,150 hectares, Punjab 688 hectares and Azad Kashmir 177 hectares.

About 274,334 animals, excluding poultry, have been lost in the floods. The total number of animals indirectly affected stands at 14.32 million, of which the maximum loss is feared in Sindh (7.37 million), followed by Punjab (4.36 million), Balochistan (1.62 million), KP (739,429) and Azad Kashmir (228,000).

At least 46,400 animal sheds have been damaged across the country. A total of 33,000 animal sheds have been damaged in Sindh, followed by 10,700 in Punjab and 2,700 in Azad Kashmir.