‘We have no dry land left’: impact of Pakistan floods to be felt for years

Muhammad Naeem Khoso lost thousands acres of crops when the torrential downpours that devastated Pakistan in July and August turned his land in Jaffarabad into a lake.

“I had invested 40 million rupees (£163,042) into different crops, mostly rice,” he said. “I lost almost everything. The floods have ruined and washed away everything.”

Khoso said he had never seen so much rain in his life, and that water was coming from everywhere. Now, he added, “I fear for a food crisis in Balochistan and beyond.”

Across the province crops, homes and livelihoods were washed away by flood waters. Agriculture is the primary source of income for many in the districts of Jaffarabad, Sohbatpur, Nasirabad and Jhal Magsi yet 70% of crops have been destroyed in the floods.

Nationwide, at least 4m acres of crops have been destroyed, part of the economic devastation estimated by the Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, at $30bn-$35bn (£27bn-£31.6bn), and while the heavy rainfall which began in July has stopped, many areas in Balochistan and Sindh provinces remain flooded. Children play and swim in fields where green crops of rice should have been swaying in the air, ready for harvest.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has warned the effects of the floods will be felt for years to come with the country “on the verge of a public health disaster”, and the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report last week that it expected increased food insecurity.

In Sohbatpur district in Balochistan, Mohammed Ali said 500 acres of crops had been washed away.

“I lost all my investment of the season but for me more worrying is the new season,” he said. “It is October now and I can’t grow wheat as we have no dry land left. The water is receding in a very slow phase and it seems we can’t grow wheat and other crops.”

In the Larkana district of neighbouring Sindh province, Sajid Ali, said more than 70% of his crops were ruined. “People have lost their crops and some have also lost their seeds of wheat, which they had kept for new seasons in their storerooms and factories,” he said.

“The land is still under water and we can’t grow anything here for a long while.”

Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s climate change minister, said half of the country’s breadbasket had been wiped out in the floods. “Clearly, there will be shocks to the food security of the country. We are not sure how the sowing season will really take place with this much water or damp soil,” she told the Guardian.

According to the Atlantic Council the total damage to agriculture amounts to $3.18bn, out of which $1.63bn is from Sindh and $1.04bn from Balochistan. Livestock losses stand at $291m, out of which $125m is from Balochistan and $109m from Sindh.

“It will have immediate and medium-term impacts at least on people’s lives,” Rehman said. “We think it’s very important to be seeking food, assistance, food aid and as well as working on pipelining climate-resilient agriculture but that’s a fairly long term.”

Both Mohammed Ali in Balochistan and Sajid Ali in Sindh said they had not seen government help and the lack of shelter meant many people, including vital farm labourers, were now homeless.

Mohammed Rasool, 50, has been sleeping on the roadside for over a month with more than 250 families in Sohbatpur who worked for a landlord and former minister, Saleem Khan Khosa. Before that Rasool worked for the minister’s uncle, Zahoor Khan Khosa.

“I have been a farmer and working for the landlord since I was a child and my entire family works for them,” Rasool said. “We are all on the road. We have nothing to eat and have been living without shelter.”

He said that he had seen 2010 floods but this was worse. “This is nothing like what I have seen ever before. Not even a single house has been spared – all have been destroyed,” he said.

He added that they had approached the former minister, who told them “God is great and we will find a way”. However, Rasool said he was still waiting for his and God’s help.

Sohail Ahmed, 22, who also worked for Khosa, said that he had been working as a farmer like his elders and he could not leave as they were provided shelter and money by the landlord.

“We get a small portion of profit, which is nothing, but we have been working for decades and we can’t leave it,” said Ahmed. “There is no other work for us in the green belt. It is just farming.”