ADB says lockdown, locust aggravate Sindh agriculture woes

KARACHI: Asian Development Bank (ADB) has found significant impact of locust swarms and lockdown related to coronavirus outbreak on agriculture sector in Sindh that accounts for 25 percent of the economy.

ADB, in a survey conducted in June found that the lockdown due to COVID-19 significantly disrupted food supply chains across all major agricultural products in Sindh.

“Furthermore, severe locust invasions have been observed, with 73.7 percent of respondents having seen locust swarms in their area,” ADB said in its latest report based on the survey of 410 farmers across the province.

ADB said more than half of the farm households reported lower food consumption and one-third of them reported lower earnings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Severe locust invasions were observed in Sindh, with 73.7 percent of respondents having seen locust swarms in their area.

The lockdown significantly disrupted food supply chains across all major agricultural products including wheat, vegetables, fruits, and milk with most respondents reporting being unable to market their produce. Tomato farmers faced substantial disruption, with 61 percent of respondents unable to complete their harvest at the usual time.

After Punjab, Sindh has the second largest total cropped area, at 3.6 million hectares. Sindh contributes significantly to the country’s overall production of major crops, providing 41 percent of rice, 31 percent of sugarcane, 21 percent of wheat, and 15 percent of cotton produced. Less than half (47 percent) of Sindh’s population lives in rural areas, which is considerably less than the share of the rural population in other provinces. However, two-thirds (65 percent) of the labor force in rural Sindh is engaged in agriculture, the highest among the provinces.

“Government response is urgently needed to offset the negative effects of COVID-19 and the locust attacks,” said the ADB. “The locust swarms may require action to both mitigate the damage already caused and to invest in long-term means to help farmers and communities prepare for future locust swarms.”

ADB said the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the locust swarms would become more apparent in the coming months.

Locust swarms emerged first in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and then in Sindh and southern Punjab. Agriculture is central to Pakistan’s economy, contributing over 19 percent of GDP and employing about 39 percent of the labor force. Agriculture is the backbone of the rural populace, which constitutes 63 percent of the country’s total population and supplies a large share of the exports.

The challenges most often cited in the survey were the farmers’ inability to travel to markets and cities and the unavailability of traders to purchase the crops. Most respondents faced challenges related to farming activities.

Respondents from lower Sindh were more prone to disruptions in their procurement of fertiliser, pesticides, diesel fuel, and machinery. The increased prices of farm inputs, especially seeds, were commonly cited.