Pakistan’s agricultural losses from quake exceed $440 million, UN reports

Direct and indirect losses to crops, livestock and irrigation infrastructure from last month’s earthquake in northern Pakistan total more than $440 million, yet the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has as yet received not one cent of the $25 million it has sought for immediate emergency aid.

“To help these farming communities resume their economic activities as soon as possible, quick impact activities have to be started at once to clear cultivated areas, restock animals, restore land productivity and rebuild livestock shelters and grain storage,” FAO Emergency Operations Service Chief Fernanda Guerrieri said today.

“Lost or destroyed tools, machinery and equipment also need to be replaced,” she added, releasing the findings of an FAO assessment.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today that the overall $550 million UN flash appeal for the quake remains under 30 per cent funded, with only 5 per cent of shelter needs and 9 per cent of water and sanitation requirements so far met.

With a death toll currently estimated at more than 70 000, few families in the earthquake-affected areas escaped the loss of human life, the FAO assessment found. Those affected have also seen a dramatic depletion of their assets.

With up to 3 million people estimated to have been left homeless, shelter has been reduced to rubble, water and energy supplies have been cut off, and transport systems seriously threatened by unstable link roads and the strong likelihood of further landslides as winter sets in. Financial assets have been badly hit, with cash, jewellery, livestock and other assets buried under collapsed houses.

“When the earthquake hit, herds of sheep and goats were on their way back from pastures, resulting in a large number of deaths and injuries among pastoralists and their livestock,” Ms. Guerrieri said. In more settled farming systems, buffaloes, cattle and poultry suffered even more severe losses as the structures in which they were kept collapsed. In the worst-affected areas, nearly all the livestock were lost.

Depletion of livestock continues as abandoned animals die, and others are sold or slaughtered in anticipation of the harsh winter, or due to lack of fodder and shelter. Feed and fodder stocks have been either buried under debris or damaged by the heavy rains that followed the earthquake.

Major damage was done to field terraces and irrigation and water management structures. In the affected areas, around 50 per cent of the irrigation infrastructure has been damaged. Entire fields have been lost due to land and rock slides. Fruit orchards and farm-machinery were severely damaged. Critical infrastructure, such as farm-to-market roads, agro-processing facilities, and agricultural research, extension and training facilities, has been decimated.

Funds are required for the provision of seeds, fertilizer, animal feed, tools and animal health services. Technical and logistical support and materials for the rehabilitation of small irrigation schemes, market roads, and agro-processing and storage facilities are also needed.