Islamabad: Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman, voiced serious apprehensions regarding extensive crop devastation across 28 districts due to relentless floods in Pakistan, cautioning that the nation is now in a dire flood emergency. Rehman emphasized the substantial losses in Punjab, where reports indicate 60% of rice, 35% of cotton, and 30% of sugarcane harvests have been obliterated. The latest inundation in Punjab has submerged over 1.3 million acres of agricultural land along eastern rivers, severely impacting Kharif crops, particularly cotton, and raising fears of escalating food inflation.
The calamity has displaced almost two million individuals, inundated 2,000 villages, and necessitated the evacuation of approximately 760,000 people and 516,000 livestock from impacted areas. Satellite data from 24 districts in Punjab, covering the Sutlej, Ravi, and Chenab river basins, reveals that roughly 3,661 square kilometers – about 4.7% of the province’s area – remains underwater.
Senator Rehman stated the ongoing destruction in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and now southern Punjab and Sindh should prompt immediate agricultural reforms and other actions to safeguard threatened livelihoods. She highlighted the plight of farmers and livestock owners whose fields and grazing areas have been decimated, leaving many facing potential poverty due to a lack of capital and crop insurance.
Pakistan’s absence of a comprehensive crop insurance policy, due to institutional and financial obstacles, leaves vulnerable farmers exposed to climate-related calamities. Rehman urged the government to implement a national crop insurance scheme that effectively covers small and marginal cultivators. She also called for immediate aid, including seeds, fertilizers, targeted subsidies for replanting, and direct cash assistance to affected families. A comprehensive strategy similar to the 2010 FAO-led recovery plan – which provided seed distribution, livestock support, and irrigation system rehabilitation – is needed now.
Advocating for improved disaster management, Rehman recommended deploying satellite technology for rapid damage assessment and aid direction. Utilizing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical satellites can precisely map flood extent and detect changes in vegetation cover, aiding in evidence-based recovery planning. Rehman warned that Pakistan’s agricultural sector is crumbling under the strain of climate change and immediate action is crucial to avert a deepening food crisis impacting both rural and urban populations.