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he prime minister has announced an agriculture and climate emergency in the country, an urgent measure to combat the flood induced calamity. The rescue and relief operations are in full swing. A daunting task of rehabilitation comes next. In addition to pooling resources and energy, national unity and resolve are needed.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority of the Punjab, floods have displaced 4.49 million people and inundated 4,489 villages in the province. The first and foremost challenge is to ensure life returns to normal, or as close to it as possible. With thousands of villages submerged, going back home may mean returning to something that no longer exists. Investment is needed to rebuild homes, roads, culverts, waterways and farmlands. The government has announced a house building subsidy of up to Rs 1 million. Using digital maps and satellite images could help determine the actual needs instead of relying on patwaris. A federal committee under the planning minister is already at work. The Federal Bureau of Statistics has recently concluded an agriculture and household census. The assessments can therefore be fairly precise.
Being at home means at least two meals a day for a family. The supplies of essential commodities and utensils need to be met. There is no firewood, no gas, no electricity; not even dung-cakes in some places to light a fire. Solar panels can be a remedy. The flood affected people have lost their belongings and are bound to be cash strapped. Cash handouts through the Benazir Income Support Programme could be diverted to flood zones.
Agricultural recovery depends on the drainage of flood water. Delays in drying of drained lands mean a shorter window for plantation, requiring access to tractors and other equipment. A lack of drainage from low lying areas offers opportunities for aquiculture. With the Rabi season only a few weeks away, access to farm machinery and inputs (seeds, fertilisers, diesel, pesticides) can make the crucial difference. In the normal course, one thinks of wheat sowing as the next major task. Equally important would be the edible oilseeds, fodders and vegetables. Easy loans, subsidies and philanthropies must get to work quickly. A shortage of supplies is expected. The crises can be compounded by greed at the supply side. Effective communications, coordinated actions and good governance are the solution.
The impact of higher prices of essential items (flour, ghee, sugar, pulses, onion, potato, chillies, tomato, milk, tea) is not limited to rehabilitation zones. The consumer at large is affected by the aftereffects of floods. The provincial Food and Price Control and Commodity Management Department (PCCMD) has the important role to stabilise food supplies, protect markets and enable recovery by ensuring timely access to essential food items and farm inputs. Coordination between the federal and provincial arms of the government for holistic disaster management is essential. There have been reports that the government is in the process of importing sugar and wheat.
The monitoring of markets and stocks is an urgent task. There has been an effort for several years to establish a dashboard of commodities at the Ministry of Food Security. The time is ripe to evaluate the performance of this dashboard. The government has a policy of deregulation. However, the emergency demands that price control mechanisms are put to use (tracking supplies, monitoring price fluctuations, preventing hoarding). Difficulties also arise due to logistic limitations such as broken roads and lack of transportation.
Public health becomes challenging during the rehabilitation process. After food, there are other biological needs. There is risk of outbreak of waterborne diseases and epidemics for humans and livestock. Preventive measures should include supply of clean drinking water, toilet facilities (for women and children, in particular) and vaccination.
The floods are understood now as a consequence of ‘climate change’ (global warming) which is likely to recur. Investment must be made in better data analytics and forecasting. Meteorologists are already warning that floods in 2026 can be as intense. There is an urgent need to prepare for building a long-term resilience plan. Storage of flood water and improvement of drainage system deserve immediate attention. Floods are an opportunity for groundwater recharge using simple engineering interventions (recharge wells, check dams, wetlands and flood canals). The obstruction of waterways should be prohibited.
The magnitude of current disaster and future threat demands building resilient communities. The government can be an enabler and a facilitator for community-led institutions for inclusive and homegrown solutions. The year 2025 has been designated as the year of cooperatives. Cooperatives were the institutions of mutuals and affirmative action—a catalyst of agricultural and rural development. The guiding principle was self-help and collective bargaining. Commodity cooperatives are a norm in the developed world. They provide complete value chain assistance to members. Machinery pools are acquired and maintained under joint ownership.
In Pakistan, there was once an elaborate network of cooperative societies, a bank and training institutes. Unfortunately, that has been decimated. Many of the societies became an instrument of elite capture. There is an element of sociology that takes precedence over the law. There is an opportunity now to organise stressed communities for self-help, volunteer work and collective healing.
Finally, investing in research systems is necessary. We have a large scatter of academic and research institutions in the country (federal and provincial). International linkages can be developed by capitalising on our Diaspora holding intellectual and financial resources. At the Punjab Higher Education Commission, we have undertaken a cluster approach to pooling human resources for research. There is an enthusiastic response to climate change and food and agriculture from across the universities.
Flood zones are a distinct agro-ecology. They deserve strategic research based on empirical evidence. We do not need any new ‘bricks and mortar’ to establish new centres of excellence. Only operational funds are required to achieve targeted indigenous solutions (climate, migration, early warning and logistics, community controls, genetics, soil and water amendments, food storage and processing, pest and disease control, mechanisation, livestock feed and health, agriculture credit, insurance and marketing, new crops, outreach and capacity building, disaster preparedness). There are 272 universities in the country with a wealth of motivated human resource. However, most of those are starved of operational research funds.
The writer is the chairperson of the Punjab Higher Education Commission. He is a former vice chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.