Pakistan Floods Destroy Crops, Costing Billions
- 14 years ago
Sources say half a million tons each of wheat and sugar had been destroyed by the worst flood in Pakistan's history. Pakistan's agricultural heartland, Punjab Province, is amongst the hardest hit.
Farmers have been reluctant to leave flooded areas, hoping to salvage their crop.
[Habibullah, Farmer]: (male Urdu)
"We grew mostly vegetables here. We used to grow all kinds of vegetable. Now, there is nothing left over here. This water will be standing here for the next three months not allowing us to grow the next crop."
[Mushtaq Hussain, Farmer]: (male Urdu)
"I own five acres of land. I grew sugarcane, corn and vegetables. The growers say that part of the sugarcane crop might be saved from damage, but I think it will not work because standing water becomes warm which will destroy the sugarcane. The rest of the crops you can see, they all have been destroyed."
[Allah Wasaya Merani, Farmer]: (Urdu/Seraiki male)
"The crops we sowed were all destroyed. The crop of split pulse was destroyed completely. However the sugarcane crop which was on high ground is safe."
The floods have also affected cotton and rice.
Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan's fragile economy and flood recovery costs could reach billions of dollars.
The floods, triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rain, have scoured the Indus river basin, killing more than 1,600 people.
The U.N. says that over 4 million people are left homeless.
Farmers have been reluctant to leave flooded areas, hoping to salvage their crop.
[Habibullah, Farmer]: (male Urdu)
"We grew mostly vegetables here. We used to grow all kinds of vegetable. Now, there is nothing left over here. This water will be standing here for the next three months not allowing us to grow the next crop."
[Mushtaq Hussain, Farmer]: (male Urdu)
"I own five acres of land. I grew sugarcane, corn and vegetables. The growers say that part of the sugarcane crop might be saved from damage, but I think it will not work because standing water becomes warm which will destroy the sugarcane. The rest of the crops you can see, they all have been destroyed."
[Allah Wasaya Merani, Farmer]: (Urdu/Seraiki male)
"The crops we sowed were all destroyed. The crop of split pulse was destroyed completely. However the sugarcane crop which was on high ground is safe."
The floods have also affected cotton and rice.
Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan's fragile economy and flood recovery costs could reach billions of dollars.
The floods, triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rain, have scoured the Indus river basin, killing more than 1,600 people.
The U.N. says that over 4 million people are left homeless.