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Floods have killed hundreds of people, injured thousands and left millions homeless across the country. Under the Benazir Income Support Program, more than Rs. 23 billion was distributed to more than 924,000 helpless families. The financial assistance has been distributed to 81 percent of the identified families. More than Rs. 2.81 billion was given to 112,485 families in Balochistan.
In a statement issued yesterday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has said that if the wheat crop is not cultivated this year, a famine-like situation may arise. The Minister of Information said that the Sindh Cabinet has fixed the price of wheat for 2022-23 at Rs 4,000 per 40kgs. Agriculture Advisor Manzoor Wasan said that the farmers have to work hard to prepare the land for new crops.
In the 75-year history of Pakistan, the devastation caused by the flood of 2022 is unprecedented. The flood that occurred in 2010 also wreaked havoc and water remained stagnated for several months which badly affected the agricultural land, As a result Pakistan in the past had to take money on interest.
During the current flood, the country’s economy has faced a loss of billions of dollars. Pakistan, however, is not alone. The Ukraine-Russia war has disrupted global trade in energy and wheat. The purchasing power of people in developing countries is being affected. Hunger will increase as a result of food shortages and famine is likely to take place.
No one could have imagined that an agricultural country like Pakistan would have to depend on other countries for wheat, but the policies adopted by the past governments and the way the farmers were exploited, compelled us to become a wheat-importing country. The total wheat production target for this year was 28.89 million metric tons, and the total consumption of wheat in the country is estimated at 30.79 million metric tons. However, due to floods, it will be difficult to achieve the production target.
There is a need for the government to adopt farmer-friendly policies, and large-scale revolutionary measures are necessary to deal with climate change, while at the global level, the international community must sit together to solve problems including the Ukraine-Russia war and the China-US conflict.
