FAO’s support for Pakistan: from immediate response to resilience building-Part 1

Geneva – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will continue to play a leading role in transforming Pakistan’s agrifood systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, sustainable and resilient, a challenge that has gained in urgency following recent floods that have devastated the country’s agriculture sector, Director-General QU Dongyu told a UN conference.

“FAO will continue to provide support to the Government of Pakistan – from immediate response to long-term recovery and resilience building,” Qu told the conference, which saw interventions from a range of global leaders,

An estimated 4.4 million acres of farmland – enough to cultivate crops for 14.6 million people – were damaged, and more than 800 000 animals lost in the most recent floods. In all, more than $9 billion in losses were incurred by the agriculture sector. What’s more, over 80 percent of such losses were absorbed by the crop sub-sector, which means that food production will be compromised in the immediate future without substantial support.