ISLAMABAD: Widespread flooding has once again devastated Pakistan’s agricultural heartland, destroying seasonal crops, uprooting mango and citrus orchards, and leaving thousands of farming families in crisis. Growers warn that without urgent government action, the country could face not only food shortages but also a severe economic setback.
Farmers across Punjab and Sindh, where orchards take years to mature, are facing the collapse of their livelihoods as entire fields have been washed away within hours. Representatives of fruit and vegetable exporters stressed that immediate compensation packages are vital to help farmers survive. Without direct support, they cautioned, rural communities risk hunger, unemployment, and long-term economic ruin.
Stakeholders also pointed to decades of delays in constructing dams, reservoirs, and headworks, which could have minimized the scale of destruction. “Every year, the same warnings are issued, and every year more lives, crops, and billions in damages are lost,” Waheed Ahmed, Patron-in-Chief, All Pakistan Fruit & Vegetable Exporters, Importers & Merchants Association (PFVA) said, urging the government to begin work on long-promised infrastructure projects without further delay.
He further called for interest-free loans and grants to help farmers replant orchards, along with watershed management, soil conservation, and reforestation to strengthen defenses against flash floods. He also highlighted the importance of shifting towards climate-smart agriculture, particularly orchard farming, which provides more resilience than vulnerable seasonal crops.
There are also growing calls to equip farmers with technology-based solutions, including early warning systems, mobile alerts, satellite monitoring, and AI-based forecasting to reduce losses in future disasters. Observers noted that India has already introduced crop insurance, flood-tolerant seed varieties, and mobile disaster management tools, while Pakistan continues to lag behind in adopting such measures.
Agriculture stakeholders warned that the recurring floods should no longer be treated as isolated misfortunes but as a national emergency requiring decisive action. They stressed that compensation for farmers, construction of dams, promotion of climate-smart farming, and adoption of modern technology must become immediate government priorities, as further delays will only mean more harvests lost and more farming families broken.
