In flood-stricken Pakistan, good wheat harvest is expected: UN FAO

Rome/ Islamabad, A large-scale distribution by UN Food & Agriculture Organization FAO of wheat seeds to victims of last year's floods in Pakistan is now ripe to yield enough food for half a million poor rural households.

With an average family size of eight, this translates into a harvest large enough to feed four million people for next six months. FAO spent $54 million of international donor funding buying and distributing quality wheat seeds as part of its emergency intervention that began last August. Once harvest is completed, this donation will have produced a crop worth almost $190 million in wheat flour, the main staple, at current local retail prices. "The investment made by donors has been quadrupled," said Daniele Donati, Chief, FAO Emergency Operations Service. "Moreover, farmers will be able to save seeds from this year's harvest to plant again later this year." More than 18 million people in Pakistan were affected by last summer's severe flooding, which caused extensive damage to housing, infrastructure and crops. As part of its immediate response to floods, FAO led UN's Agriculture Cluster, comprised of over 200 organizations, reaching 1.4 million farming families across Pakistan.

FAO received $92 million of its $107 million appeal, which enabled it to shore up smallholder agricultural system in four provinces affected by floods. Donors were Australia, Belgium, Canada, UN Central Emergency Response Fund CERF, European Commission, IFAD, Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom & United States. As well as supporting Rabi wheat planting season, it is estimated that FAO saved lives of almost a million livestock by supplying temporary shelter, enough de-worming tablets and dry animal feed for almost 290,000 families. Green fodder is now becoming available as harsh winter turns to spring. "The livestock interventions really paid off," Donati said. "It costs ten times ! more to buy a new animal, which often represent a family's lifetime savings". FAO is overseeing a thousand cash-for-work schemes by which workers are paid to clear irrigation canals blocked with silt and flood debris. One severely affected province not to have received much help is Sindh. This was because fields remained waterlogged until well after end of Rabi planting season, and in some cases are still inundated.

UN agency will shortly distribute quality rice seeds to almost 25,000 families in Sindh for upcoming planning season, but over 700,000 families will require assistance over coming months. FAO, in partnership with Pakistan government identified recovery priorities for next two years. These are increasing crop, livestock, fishery, agro-forestry production, improving diets, nutrition, boosting agriculture extension services to offer advice to landless and smallholder farmers. "Pursuit of these core objectives will significantly reduce vulnerability of populations in question, improve food production and income generation, and increase affected communities' resilience to future shocks," said Donati. FAO expects its recovery program to cost $94 million, enough to assist 430,000 families in 24 districts. An Early Recovery Working Group, co-chaired by Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority & UNDP was set up with eight sectors covered including one on Agriculture & Food Security, co-chaired by FAO, World Food Program & Food & Agriculture Ministry.