FAO official says: floods devastated crops, irrigation system, livestock

FAO Country Head Mauji Damianie has said that the recent flood damages assessment report shows that in all the four provinces of Pakistan and Azad Jamu Kashmir (AJK), an area of 1,313,756 hectares of field crops was reportedly destroyed.

In terms of losses of the crops cultivated, Punjab was the worst-hit (661 637 hectares) followed by Sindh (357,372 hectares), KP (191,020 hectares) and AJK (92,370 hectares).

Addressing the representatives of the nation-building departments and NGOs here at the Circuit House along-with Angus Graham chief agriculture cluster, Damianie said Preliminary Rapid Damage Assessment report revealed that field crops were hit hard by the floods, with cotton, sugarcane, fodder crops and rice being the worst affected crops of the current Kharif season.

The affected communities also suffered heavy losses in livestock and irrigation infrastructure, which are of paramount importance for the livelihoods of the predominantly agrarian flood-affected communities.

The report also encompasses community prioritisation for immediate emergency and relief interventions and a proposed action plan stipulated on a time scale of immediate, short, medium and long terms bases.

Out of total 415,905 hectares surveyed cotton crop fields, at-least 315,769 hectares was affected in Punjab, 99,930 hectares in Sindh and 206 in the KPK. Total area of cotton crop in 11 surveyed districts of Punjab is 1,520,817 hectares and, in 9 districts of Sindh, the area is 28,060 hectares.

Damianie said cotton is the main cash and industrial crop of south Punjab and Sindh, besides being a major crop for earning foreign exchange by exporting the raw and finished cotton fibre to the international market. The cotton crop was at a critical stage of reproductive growth ie boll formation. Cotton growers suffered enormous losses in terms of losing the cotton crop at a very critical stage of production eg Larkana suffered 98 percent loss of the crop.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2010

IMF agrees to release installment

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to release the next instalment of $1.2 billion of the Standby Arrangement Programme. The decision followed assurances over the implementation of reformed General Sales Tax (GST) from October 1.

However, a final decision on the release of the loan tranche will be taken later by the IMF Board.

The Fund has also agreed to relax some of the economic targets previously set for fiscal 2010-11, according to a senior member of the Pakistani delegation. This includes a further reduction in the tax collection target from Rs1,604 billion earlier proposed by the Federal Board of Revenue, according to sources.

The IMF delegation expressed reservations about the expected failure to achieve the economic targets for the July-September quarter set during the last meeting between the two sides.

The failure to implement reformed GST, eliminate subsidies on electricity and limit government borrowing from the central bank were the issues raised by the IMF during the discussions.

The IMF added that the next instalment shall be contingent upon the fulfilment of economic targets agreed upon during the meeting.

In response, the Pakistani delegation explained that the delay in the implementation of reformed GST was due to the failure of negotiations between Islamabad and the provinces regarding the collection and distribution of GST on services.

However, they informed the IMF that reconciliation between the provinces and the federal government was likely soon.

The Pakistani delegation also provided a schedule for the elimination of subsidies on electricity and outlined a plan of action to meet the shortage of electricity and other economic challenges, sources said.

The IMF was apprised that economic targets will be revised downwards after estimates of flood losses are made available. They outlined the damages caused by massive flooding to the infrastructure and economy and offered a conservative estimate of $5 billion in losses. The delegation predicted that the agriculture sector will suffer the most in the aftermath of the floods and hence GDP growth will be stunted. The balance of payments will worsen as the trade deficit widens following increased imports of foodstuff and agricultural inputs.

As a result, the IMF has agreed to relax the conditions for the next instalment, but subsequently stressed the realisation of reformed GST schedule from October 1.

According to sources, the delegation will also attempt to obtain additional emergency funding of around $2 to $3 billion for the reconstruction of areas affected by the floods.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2010.

Floods cause Rs 244.6bn loss to agri sector: MinFA

* Small farmers suffer loss of Rs 98bn, while some face total annihilation of their crops
ISLAMABAD: The devastating floods across the country have caused damage worth Rs 244.6 billion to the agriculture sector with maximum losses suffered by the small farmers of around Rs 98 billion, while some facing total annihilation of their crops.

This was revealed in the initial estimate prepared by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MinFA) on Monday in coordination with the provincial governments and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) government. However, the estimate prepared by the MinFA has also said that the agriculture loss could be higher in Southern Punjab and some parts of Sindh as clear pictures from many areas have yet not been received. The ministry has said that maximum damage by the floods has been made to the minor crops of Kharif season, which includes jawar, maize, moong and mash pulses and some citrus fruit varieties. “The most upsetting thing is that the minor crops are mainly cultivated by small farmers and in areas where growers have small land holdings,” said a senior official of the MinFA. “This loss is the most serious setback for the farming community because most of the small farmers have lost considerable number of livestock too as they had limited facility for their animals.” Among the major cash crops the ministry’s report highlighted that the largest loss of Rs 71.4 billion has been faced by the cotton crop.

Cotton was sown over 3.1 hectares in the current Kharif season out of which the floods have destroyed crops at 0.51 million hectares, as a result the production is expected to decline by almost 15 percent to 11.7 million bales as against the targeted cotton production of 14 million bales in 2010.

The Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Muhammad Gondal has said that Pakistan will face serious cotton shortage in coming days as more than 15 percent of the crop has already been hit by the floods.

“Two million bales have been destroyed in the floods in Punjab alone and we have yet to receive the complete details,” the minister added. The cotton crop has been seriously damaged in Bakkhar, Layyah and Mianwali districts apart from many other areas in southern districts of Punjab, while the left bank of River Indus in Sindh is the cotton belt and the cotton crops have suffered in Sukkur, Khairpur, Ghotki, Naushero Feroze and Benazirabad districts. The paddy crops in the country have faced a loss of Rs 56.3 billion and the worst hit areas are right bank districts of Sindh.

The countrywide paddy production is expected to decline by around 27 percent to 4.35 million tonnes as against the original estimated production of 5.95 million tonnes. Among the major crops, sugarcane farmers have suffered a loss of Rs 19.3 billion and its production is expected to decline to 47.23 million tonnes as against the estimated production of 54.83 million tonnes.

Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Chairman Iskander khan said that the initial reports suggest that the sugar cane crops in Charsadda, DI Khan and some parts of Southern Punjab have suffered damages. He said that 4 million tonnes of sugar production was expected in the coming season but now 3.8 million tonnes is likely to be obtained. The MinFA has estimated that the other serious issue faced by the country in the near future would be shortage of vegetables.[DailyTimes]