ISLAMABAD – Ministry of National Food Security and Research has written a letter to provincial governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, asking them to submit the reports on damage assessment of different standing crops that were affected due to torrential rains and hailstorm across the crop sowing areas of the country.
After receiving the details of financial losses and damage of different crops, a comprehensive strategy would be devised for the compensation to affected farmers and revival of agriculture sector in these areas, said Food Security Commissioner Dr Imtiaz Ahmad Gopang here on Wednesday.
“So far we (federal government) have received initial figures of the areas where different crops standing over thousand acres were affected due to last rain spell, mostly the areas was covered with wheat, which was the major cash crop of the season”, he said while talking to APP.
Dr Imtiaz said that according to the initial damage reports received from the Punjab, different crops including wheat, maize, sugarcane and vegetables, standing over 437,000 acres, were affected due to rains and hailstorm, adding that out of the total affected area wheat area comprising 362,000 acres.
He said that initial survey had revealed that in Punjab, wheat crop was damaged in over 3,000 villages, maize 700 villages and sugarcane over 68 villages.
In some villages the area under different crops was damaged from 25 to 100 percent adding that 25 percent areas which were damaged due to rains were covered with different crops and vegetables, he added.
Food Security Commissioner said that in Punjab where 50 percent crop was damaged, which was cultivated on 189,000 acres of land while wheat was affected on over 177,000 acres, adding that crops on around 17,518 acres of land witnessed 75 percent damage while wheat was affected over 11,518 acres.
There were about 18,000 acres of land where 100 percent crops were destroyed and out of the total affected areas the wheat crop was cultivated over 14,000 acres, he added.
Besides, he said that the KP province had compiled its initial estimates of damages of different crops and carried out its survey in 12 affected districts where standing crops spreading over 174,000 acres were affected due to torrential rains.
Out of the total area, 15 percent of the affected areas were comprised wheat areas where over 165,000 acres of land under the crop was affected, he added.
Food Security Commissioner said that after receiving the details of financial losses of different crops, government would prepare a comprehensive policy to compensate the effected farmers as it was determined to develop and promote the agriculture sector of the country.
He said that federal government was in close coordination with the provincial governments to devise mechanism for revival of the agriculture and livestock sectors in rain affected areas and all possible resources would be utilized in this regard.