Pakistan : Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Security Support Project

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural policy, institutional and capacity development - Agricultural production

The floods of 2022 caused massive devastation across Pakistan as one-third of the country was submerged under water for several days. Since damages were not limited to one province or region, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were also severely impacted. Over 107,000 acres (43,300 hectare) of crops were washed away, and 39,000 livestock heads were lost. Major losses were observed in rice and maize, with damaged area of 30,000 acres (12,140 hectare) and 20,000 acres, respectively (8,093 hectare). Public and private agriculture infrastructure such as soil and water conservation schemes, watercourses, reservoirs etc. were severely damaged. The total cost of loss and damage to KP s agriculture and livestock sectors is estimated to be PKR 18 billion ($ 72 million).

The floods of 2022 severely impacted the food security of KP and the country. While the floods directly damaged the Kharif (summer) crop, it also destroyed seed stored for the Rabi (winter) crops. Due to the country s continuous macroeconomic instability, poor fiscal and monetary policies and exchange rate volatility, the foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan (as of 20th Jan 2023) have depleted to $ 3.7 billion. This is worth only three weeks of imports. Import of key agriculture inputs mainly fertilizer and quality seeds are already impacted by shortage of supply and increased prices. The shortage of these key agriculture inputs will impact agricultural productivity of key staple crops and increase food insecurity, with further implications on an already weakened rural economy. Livelihoods are likely to be impacted, as multidimensional poverty will increase by 13 percentage points after 2022 floods. The proposed project intends to support the KP Government to respond to the immediate needs of post-2022 flood food security in the province. This will be with the provision of urgent agriculture inputs to maintain agriculture production and support flood impacted households where purchasing power may already be depleted.

Food security, climate resilience, and income needs of the vulnerable sections of the population improved

Food security and climate-resilient livelihoods of flood-affected farm households in the project area improved

Adoption of climate-smart and resilient agricultural production practices by flood-affected farming communities increased

Institutional capacity and preparedness for climate-induced disaster strengthened