Sindh loses crops worth Rs87bn: agriculture minister

KARACHI: The Sindh government’s agriculture department has released an initial report detailing the damage caused to crops by the recent heavy monsoon rains.

Agriculture Minister Sardar Muhammad Bux Mehar announced that the floods devastated various crops across Sindh, resulting in an estimated loss of Rs86.86 billion for farmers.Minister Mehar provided a breakdown of the damages, adding that 541,351 acres of crops have been completely destroyed, specifically, 293,580 acres of cotton crops have been affected.

According to Mehar, rice crops have been fully destroyed on 35,271 acres and partially damaged on 269,016 acres. Similarly, date palms have suffered complete loss on 53,195 acres and partial loss on 32,849 acres.

The minister further noted that sugarcane crops have been fully destroyed on 26,382 acres and partially damaged on 69,689 acres. The unprecedented rains have led to a 21 per cent loss in cotton and a 41 per cent loss in date palms.

Tomato nurseries have experienced a 3.4 per cent loss, sesame 22 per cent, onions 58 per cent, chili peppers 12 per cent, and vegetables 18 per cent.The provincial agriculture minister also highlighted that the following districts have been severely impacted by the rains: Badin, Dadu, Ghotki, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Larkana, Sanghar, Thatta, Sajawal, Mirpurkhas, Khairpur, Umerkot, Tando Allahyar, Shikarpur, Nawabshah, Matiari, Tando Muhammad Khan, and Tharparkar.He said that he has instructed agriculture department officials to take immediate measures to protect the crops that have been partially affected to prevent further losses.