Daily Times

Recent flash floods and torrential rains have not only destroyed the major and minor cash crops standing over thousands of hectares across the four provinces of the country, but it also ruined basic livestock infrastructure developed over vast areas.

Due to the devastation, hundreds of thousands small and large animals killed, besides destroying and damaging of poultry sheds and fish farms established over vast areas in the country. According to a senior official of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, over 703 animals’ sheds in flood hit areas were completely damaged, whereas 591 sheds were partially damaged. The initial data compiled by provincial livestock departments revealed that over 86,120 rural poultry birds vanished due to floods, whereas 01 poultry shed was completely damaged and 5 sheds partially damaged, he said adding that basic livestock infrastructure in Balochistan Province had seen the worst destruction as about 586 animals sheds completely destroyed and 417 animals sheds partially damaged.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about 61 animals’ sheds destroyed completely, whereas 84 received partial damages, he said adding that one poultry shed was destroyed and 5 were partially damaged. Meanwhile, the official informed that over 56 animals sheds in Sindh Province were completely damaged and 90 sheds partially damaged due to recent floods and rains in the country.

It is worth mentioning here that the recent torrential rains and floods have wreaked havoc across the country, causing damages of Rs 320.824 billion to agriculture and livestock alone. The floods damaged standing crops including cotton, maize, sugarcane, oil seeds and seasonal pulses spreading over millions of hectares of land whereas the livestock sector also faced huge losses. According to initial estimates over 800,000 big and small animals died due to floods in provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.