The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s United Business Group(UBG) Wednesday urged the government to work out result oriented packages of incentives to hard hit flood affected farmers to avert impending hovering food crisis.
Talking to a delegation of flood affected farmers drawn across the country led by Haris Ahmad,UBG Chairman Shahzad Ali Malik,Sitar-I-Imtiaz here on today said the super flash flooding has crippled our agriculture sector, crops along with thousands of livestocks and stores of wheat and fertilisers have also been damaged prompting warnings of looming food crisis.
He said the damage to agriculture sector could also be felt across the globe.
He said Pakistan is one of the top producers and exporters of cotton and rice crops that have been devastated by the flood. As such half of our cotton has been destroyed, an alarm to global cotton production in a year when cotton prices have soared as other major producers from the US to China have also been hit with extreme weather. He said double digit inflation sent the prices of basic goods soaring in Pakistan making difficult for farmers to buy agricultural inputs.
Shahzad Ali Malik said floodwaters also threatened to derail wheat planting this fall raising the possibility of continued food shortfall and princes spikes through next year. He said it’s alarming prospects in Pakistan that depends on its wheat production to feed itself at a time when global wheat supplies are precarious. He said Sindh which produces around one third food supply received six time its 30 years average rainfall this monsoon that damaged 50% of crops.He said floods
caused loss in whole country. He said UN Secretary General has already announced that the world was facing “unprecedented global hunger crisis”. And Pakistan must bear in mind the official statement while framing future planning to offset this threat well on time.
He called upon the government to announce packages for flood hit farmers and rehabilitation of flood affectees on top priority. He said mainstay of Pakistan economy is agriculture which includes cash crops of cotton, rice besides wheat and sugarcane, etc.
