Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri appreciates revival of 98 percent fields in Sindh after floods

Canberra: Pakistani High Commissioner to Australia Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri this week appreciated that 98 percent fields in Sindh were ready for cultivation after floods.

“We are a resilient nation and will overcome this challenge as well. Will Insha Allah (God willing) build back,” he tweeted.

As the wheat sowing season is progressing in full swing, the United Nations earlier said 98 percent of the total area for wheat cultivation in Sindh was now available for the next planting season, as people are preparing the land for the sowing season in areas where floodwater has receded.

A report on the latest situation released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) says floodwater continues to recede in many areas of Sindh and Balochistan though standing water remains in some districts.

In Sindh, the most affected districts, such as Dadu, Khairpur and Mirpurkhas, remained underwater for nearly two months, it said.

The report emphasised that there is now also a need for the provision of seeds and fertilisers to cultivate vegetable crops and support restoration of the affected crop areas and livelihoods ahead of the upcoming agriculture cropping season. There is a need to make efforts to protect livestock and ensure farmers do not miss the Rabi cropping season, the FAO assessment shows.

The UNOCHA report says the ongoing economic crisis due to rising inflation, low productivity growth and climate change-induced floods continues to present challenges to food security and basic nutrition in the flood-affected areas. The latest National Nutrition Survey estimated that close to 1.6m children could suffer from severe acute malnutrition and require treatment in Sindh and Balochistan flood-affected areas.