The toll of extreme flooding on Pakistan’s food security is becoming apparent: large swathes of farmland under water, crops and stockpiles washed away, homes and livelihoods wiped out.
The government has warned that a food crisis is looming. Rains and deadly floods have damaged rice and cotton crops, along with vegetables like onions and tomatoes. They also threaten wheat planting in the coming months at a time when the world can ill afford another disruption to grain supply.
Global prices of kitchen staples soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, driving food inflation to a record. The catastrophic flood could be a $10 billion hit to a Pakistan economy already in crisis. The damage to food supplies could boost the nation’s need for imports and increase the pressure on global agricultural markets.
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