Devastating floods, drought raise risk of food crisis

Unprecedented flooding that hit Pakistan between June and August this year has again underlined the risk posed to food systems by the effects of climate change.

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Large swathes of critical farmland were destroyed in that country, resulting in millions of people now facing hunger.

Flooding also devastated farmland in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, putting many people at risk of food shortages during 2023.

At the same time, devastating drought in East Africa has raised the spectre of famine for millions of people, especially in the Horn of Africa region, which includes Somalia and northern Kenya.

The UN estimated that the floods, which decimated Pakistan’s key farming provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, had affected some 33 million people, and more than eight million people in Pakistan displaced by the floods now faced a health crisis.

Restoring livelihoods devastated by the floods would require unprecedented efforts by Pakistan to rebuild its agriculture sector at a time when the global economy is under strain and the cost of every input, from fertiliser to fuel, is rising, the UN said.

ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, food inflation in October 2022 was 36,2% higher year-on year. Moreover, economic output was expected to shrink, worsening the impact of the floods on those relying primarily on agriculture for their livelihoods.