“Even though I am one of the most unpopular politicians in the country right now, I will not compromise on the country’s stability or push it towards a default for cheap popularity.” – Finance Minister Miftah Ismail
By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Finance minister Miftah Islmail said large swathes of crops have been destroyed or extensively damaged by deadly floods across Pakistan, leading to further challenges to food security in the impoverished nation of over 220 million.
Rains and deadly floods have damaged rice and cotton crops, along with vegetables like onions and tomatoes. Sowing next year’s wheat crop, which starts in October, will be another challenge. Even before the floods, the country was facing a wheat shortage of about 2.6 million tons.
“Wheat farming should commence in Sindh by mid-October at least, for which dry land is required and if this doesn’t happen, it would result in a very bleak spring,” Islamil said at a discussion on ‘The Current State of Pakistan’s Economy’.
The catastrophic flood could be a $10 billion hit to the country’s economy already in crisis. The damage to food supplies could boost the need for imports and increase the pressure on global agricultural markets.
Food costs have jumped in Pakistan, with tomato prices surging fivefold and onions tripling since last month. Steps are being taken to import vegetables and other items from Iran and Afghanistan.
Minister Ismail said 100 percent of the cotton crop in Sindh, which accounts for 28-30 percent of the crop in Pakistan, has been destroyed, which amounts to losses of at least $1 billion. “This will cascade through the economy,” he said.
Around 20 percent of the sugarcane crop in Sindh has also been damaged, which makes up 10 percent of the entire country’s sugarcane production. “More than half of Sindh’s onion and tomato crop has been destroyed and 80 percent of the rice crop has also been destroyed, which will adversely affect farmers in the province.”
Islmail said over 800,000 livestock perished due to floods, mostly in Balochistan.
Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan’s fragile economy, while wheat markets are on edge about crop losses after short supplies from Ukraine.
“The devastation to crops is immense. I think it’s safe to say it will take some billions of dollars to recover. I am referring to livelihood for agriculture and farming to get back in shape,” the minister said.
The floods, triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rain, have scoured the Indus river basin, killing more than 1,200 people, forcing millions from their homes and disrupting the lives of about 33 million people, or over 15 percent of the population.
Ismail said Rs28 billion have been disbursed through Benazir Income Support Programme in a transparent manner to provide relief to the flood affected people.
“The flood-affected people will not be abandoned in this testing time and will be compensated utilising all available resources, even if it means diverting PSDP funds for their rehabilitation”.
Ismail said the government took difficult decisions in difficult situations as their priority was to revive the International Monetary Fund’s loan programme. “We contacted IMF soon after coming to power and with prudent policies saved Pakistan from default.”
The minister during the discussion hinted that his time as finance minister could be cut short, saying the government has 13 months but he “may not even have that much time”.
“I don’t know how long I will stay, but the government, God willing, will stay for 6.5 years,” he said. “But, to be honest, I work here in a way that I will stay forever. Pakistan will always stay, right? So you have to plan in a way… that works for the next five years.”
“Even though I am one of the most unpopular politicians in the country right now, I will not compromise on the country’s stability or push it towards a default for cheap popularity.”
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
