Devastating Pakistan Floods Trigger Food Crisis Concerns

(MENAFN) Intense monsoon rains and devastating floods have submerged vast areas of Pakistan’s farmland, destroying crops ready for harvest and raising urgent alarms over a looming food shortage and inflation, warned both the UN and agricultural leaders on Monday.

The catastrophic floods recently battered northeastern Punjab—the nation’s largest province and its agricultural heartland—drowning hundreds of villages, schools, and health centers, wiping out livestock, annihilating crops, and causing around 50 fatalities alongside mass evacuations.

Official figures reveal the disaster has affected over 2 million people, with more than 700,000 displaced so far.

As floodwaters continue to surge southward toward the powerful Indus River, authorities fear the southern Sindh province will soon face severe damage.

“This isn’t normal—yet it’s becoming the new normal. Monsoons, driven by climate change, now bring fear and devastation to communities across Pakistan,” stated Mo Yahya, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator, in a post on social media platform X after touring the flood-ravaged regions.

“Flooded rice fields stretch as far as the eye can see. Farmers now face months without crops or income until the next planting season,” Yahya said, sharing footage of submerged farmland in Hafizabad district.

“This is only the beginning — more intense rains are expected in the coming weeks. As the water flows further south, it will threaten more families with displacement and destruction,” he warned.

“This is not just another natural disaster; this is #ClimateChange.”

Supporting these grave concerns, Waqar Ahmad, secretary general of the Kisan Board of Pakistan, a nationwide farmers organization, confirmed the floods have obliterated the country’s three key crops: rice, sugarcane, and sesame.

“Rice crop has particularly taken a toll as the floods have hit the major rice-producing districts,” Waqar Ahmad told a news agency.

He estimated that “70% of the standing rice crop has been destroyed by the latest floods.”

Ahmad further cautioned, “if neighboring India releases another deluge of floodwaters towards Pakistan, the remaining amounts of the standing crops will be badly affected.”

Waheed Ahmad, head of the Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exports Association, expressed concern that the floods would likely trigger food inflation, as extensive crop and vegetable losses across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces deepen the crisis.

He called on the government to “lift the levy on vegetable and fruit imports from neighboring Afghanistan and Iran” to help mitigate impending food shortages.

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