HIGHLIGHTS
• Around 3 million flood-affected, food-insecure people in Sindh and Balochistan provinces urgently need agricultural support. One out of three people have been struck by floods both this and last year.
• Further agricultural losses can be prevented with timely donor support. Prioritized FAO interventions:
-
ensure planting where conditions permit through provision of crop seeds and fertilizer, and repair of vital infrastructure through cash-for-work schemes.
-
keep surviving livestock alive, productive and healthy by distributing life-saving animal feed rations, fodder seed and veterinary supplies.
• FAO is reaching approximately 91 000 families with vital crop and livestock assistance, thanks to donor contributions of nearly USD 10.6 million received under the Pakistan Floods Rapid Response Plan 2011.
Donors: Australia, Belgium, CERF and Sweden.
• Wheat seed packages, funded by Sweden, are reaching around 26 500 families, which otherwise would have been unable to plant in time for the Rabi (winter) season.
• Zaid Rabi planting in January/February 2012 will be a critical second chance for farmers, unable to cultivate wheat, to begin producing crops again (e.g. sunflower, pulses, vegetables).
• FAO is well positioned to ensure effective, well-targeted assistance, stemming from its extensive response to the 2010 floods and related preparedness work – from contingency planning to detailed livelihood assessments.