Arz Mohammed had sown cotton on his small plot of land in southern Pakistan, like he did every year. According to him, the harvest would bring in enough money to keep his family of five out of need. Then the flood began.
Mohammed lost the majority of his income when this summer’s severe flooding in Pakistan caused his house to collapse and his four acres of cotton to be ruined.
On top of that, three months after the hardest rains ceased, his land and the land of his neighbours are still submerged. Like many other farmers in southern Pakistan, he might not have enough time to sow his next crop, wheat.
The nation’s food supply may be in peril as a result.
Mohammed, who lives in a tent with his wife and kids close to his demolished house in Khairpur, one of the hardest-hit regions of the country, said, “These rains have ruined everything for us.” We don’t even have food, says the speaker.
Huge areas of crops were destroyed by this summer’s floods, which was brought on by monsoon rains that were nearly three times as intense as usual. As a result, already food insecure people struggled to find food. Farmers and government officials fear that Pakistan may soon experience severe food shortages at a time when both domestic and international food costs are rising.
According to authorities, Pakistan’s cotton crop lost 40% of its yield and nearly 15% of its rice crop. The personal grain supplies that many agricultural families rely on year-round were also destroyed by the floodwaters.
