Chairman Pakistan Hi-Tech Hybrid Seed Association (PHHSA) Shahzad Ali Malik on Thursday said that cash crop suffered billions of rupees loss due to flood devastation especially in Sindh and south Punjab.

Presiding over a meeting of Pakistan Hi-Tech Hybrid Seed Association here, he said that damage to the rice crop, the farmers’ association put the losses at about 200,000 tonnes of rice, an estimate also supported by a Singapore-based trading company.

Quoting the United Nations World Food Programme, he said “We are estimating around 200,000 to 300,000 tonnes of rice lost in these floods which will be reflected in Pakistan’s exports”.

He said Pakistan was slogging through one of the most devastating disaster in the country’s history that left a third of land under water and added that the agriculture sector was one of the most affected sector, of which 35% standing rice crop was damaged in Sindh and 29% in south Punjab, while other rice growing areas were also partially hit by excessive heatwaves which affected the yields.

He said the deadly floods destroyed vast hectares of cotton and rich crops, a key source of employment and forex for the nation. Quoting preliminary reports of WFP, he said, ” Pakistan could lose at least a tenth of rice output to floods”.

He said Pakistan the world fourth largest rice exporters suffered extensive damage to agriculture, the mainstay of its economy, as floods ravaged large swathes of its farmland.

Shahzad Malik said that Pakistan is forecast to have lost 10% of its 2022 estimated rice production of around 8.7 million tonnes and would be difficult to meet rice exports target. He urged the government to provide interest-free loans to all flood-hit farmers across the country on top priority besides provision of all agricultural inputs on highly subsidised rate which includes fuel, seed, fertiliser and electricity to provide solace to aggrieved sections of the society.

He said PHHSA would soon dispatch relief goods consignment in Sindh and south Punjab and added that it was taking stock of the situation and would take up the matter with government after receiving final reports of losses.

Source - https://dailytimes.com.pk