Comment by Riaz Haq on June 4, 2023 at 4:15pm

GLOBALink | China donates hybrid rice seeds to flood-hit Pakistani province

https://english.news.cn/20230602/f06447ac48fd42b4821a839d5a1323db/c...


Hybrid rice seed donation from China will play a major role in rebuilding the agriculture sector of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, which was badly affected by devastating floods last year, a Pakistani official said on Tuesday.

Addressing the seed donation ceremony, Balochistan's legislative assembly speaker Jan Muhammad Jamali said that the government and people of China extended great help to Pakistan in rehabilitation work after the flood, and through the seed donation, it will help the people who lost all their fortune in the calamity.

Jamali said 85 percent to 90 percent of Balochistan was affected by the floods last year, and the donated seeds will revive rice plantations in the province, where rice is a major crop.

Highlighting the friendship between the two countries, Bao Zhong, counselor of political affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, said China-Pakistan friendship is deeply embedded in the hearts of the two peoples.

She said China is willing to encourage enterprises of the two countries to carry out agricultural cooperation under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

China is ready to share its advanced agricultural development technology and experience with Pakistan to help lift its agricultural development level, the Chinese counselor said.

"China will as always help Pakistan improve the livelihood of the people of Balochistan province, promote exchanges between sister provinces and cities, and encourage the development of local industries to benefit the local people," she added.

Zhou Xusheng, director of the international business department of Wuhan Qingfa Hesheng Seed Co. Ltd, which is the donor, said the Chinese company is willing to continue to provide training on hybrid rice cultivation techniques to Pakistani farmers to help increase agricultural output and their income.

Launched in 2013, CPEC is a corridor linking Pakistan's Gwadar Port with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport, and industrial cooperation.

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 8, 2023 at 7:03pm

USAID Announces Funding to Support Flood-Affected Communities in Pakistan

https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/jun-06-2023-u...


Today in Sindh, Pakistan, USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman announced $16.4 million in additional development and humanitarian assistance to support the resilience of communities in Pakistan that experienced 2022’s historically severe floods, which impacted an estimated 33 million people and had a devastating impact on infrastructure, crops, livelihoods, and livestock throughout the country.

This new funding will reach over 20 million flood-affected individuals to assist in their recovery, risk reduction, and resilience. The assistance will address worsening food insecurity and malnutrition and help curb the spread of disease. In addition, this funding will support humanitarian partners to provide nutritious food to mothers and their children, help families rebuild local infrastructure to protect them from future disasters, and increase protection services to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors.

Following severe monsoon rains and resultant floods in Pakistan during mid-2022, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team to lead the U.S. humanitarian response and rapidly provide aid to affected communities. This included working with partners to quickly scale-up vital humanitarian assistance, including through partnering with the U.S. Department of Defense to successfully complete an air bridge that delivered nearly 630 metric tons of life-saving relief commodities to Pakistan.

The U.S. is one of the largest donors to Pakistan, providing more than $200 million in humanitarian and development assistance since 2022’s catastrophic floods. The United States continues to stand with the people of Pakistan as they recover from the impacts of the historic floods.

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 13, 2023 at 8:16am

Thousands evacuated in #India and #Pakistan as #BiparjoyCyclone approaches. Pakistan is among the top 10 countries most affected by #climatechange, although the country’s contribution to global #greenhouse gas emissions is less than 1%.
https://apnews.com/article/cyclone-biparjoy-evacuations-india-pakis...

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Pakistan’s army and civil authorities are planning to evacuate 80,000 people to safety along the country’s southern coast, and thousands in neighboring India sought shelter ahead of Cyclone Biparjoy, officials said Tuesday.

The cyclone is forecast to slam ashore in the densely populated region on Thursday. It is likely to be the most powerful to hit western India and Pakistan since 2021, and follows devastating floods that ravaged Pakistan last year, leaving 1,739 people dead and causing $30 billion in losses.

Biparjoy was packing maximum sustained winds of 180 kph (111 mph), according to the India Meteorological Department. It’s projected to hit land near Jakhau port in the Kutch district of Gujarat. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said the cyclone was 470 kilometers (292 miles) south of Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, on Tuesday morning.

-------

Experts say climate change is leading to an increase in cyclones in the Arabian Sea region, making preparations for natural disasters all the more urgent. Pakistan is among the top 10 countries most affected by climate change, although the country’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is less than 1%.

“The oceans have become warmer already on account of climate change,” said Raghu Murtugudde, Earth system scientist at the University of Maryland. He said a recent study shows that the Arabian Sea has warmed up by almost 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) since March this year, making conditions favorable for severe cyclones.

A 2021 study found that the frequency, duration and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea had increased significantly between 1982 and 2019, he said.

U.N. climate reports have also stated that the intensity of tropical cyclones would increase in a warmer climate. A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2019 found that since the 1950s, the fastest sea surface warming has occurred in the Indian Ocean.

Cyclone Tauktae in 2021 was the last severe cyclone that made landfall in the same region. It claimed 174 lives, a relatively low figure thanks to extensive preparations ahead of the cyclone.

In 1998, a cyclone that hit Gujarat claimed more than 1,000 lives and caused excessive damage. A cyclone that hit Sindh province and the city of Karachi in 1965 killed more than 10,000 people.

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 17, 2023 at 10:36am

After the floods, the future looks bright: truck art in Pakistan – a photo essay

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/jul/17/after-th...


Ali Salman Anchan and his team of artists travelled to meet some of the people affected by last year’s devastating monsoon rains in Sindh province. They set to work covering an aid truck with vibrant images to share people’s stories of resilience and recovery

by Sanam Maher in Sindh and Liz Ford. Photographs by Zoral Khurram Naik

Pakistan artist Ali Salman Anchan has received commissions from across the world. His “truck art” – known as Phool Patti in Urdu – appears in buildings in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia. Most recently, his vibrant designs have brightened up the Pakistan embassy in Beijing.

But it was a commission to paint a van used to transport medical supplies after last year’s devastating floods in his home country that has been the most fulfilling, he says, adding: “It was an honour to be part of this project.”


Truck art dates back to the 1920s, when Bedford trucks imported from the UK were embellished with colourful floral patterns and landscapes, animals and birds. Over the years, the indigenous art form has become a method of storytelling, used to share messages or celebrate moments and milestones. The designs, often painted by hand and largely by self-taught artists, can be seen on vehicles across the country, including tuk-tuks and buses.

In January, Anchan was asked by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group of UK charities that coordinates funding appeals, to tell the stories of some of the survivors of Pakistan’s worst floods on the sides of a vehicle that was used as a mobile clinic.

Between June and August last year, monsoon rains killed at least 1,700 people, damaged 2m homes, and destroyed crops and livelihoods. Sindh and Balochistan provinces were worst affected.

Anchan, founder of the Phool Patti, a social enterprise project to promote Pakistani truck art around the world, was sent photographs of potential subjects to paint, and in May he and his team of artists travelled to Sindh to meet them. Anchan says hearing their stories was “eye-opening”.

Maula Dinno*, a farmer in Sindh, says he thought he was “witnessing judgment day” when the floods arrived. “So much water entered our homes. We could not even sit on our charpoys [woven beds] as the water rose above them.

“Everything was destroyed in the water. The cotton crops we had sown, the animals … we lost it all. I saw people falling so ill. We were compelled to seek shelter in tents on the nearby main roads. My family – my mother, my wife, Nusrat, and our children – spent two months living on the road.

“My land was inundated, and by the time the water dried, the land was barren and unusable. We did not have the funds to plough the land or purchase the seed. The situation was so dire that I gave up. I felt as if I would never be able to use the land again.”

Dinno received saplings, seeds and fertiliser from the NGO Concern Worldwide, and one year on, crops are beginning to grow back. “Yesterday, I carried mountains of troubles and trials, but now I am relieved [of them] and I am in a happy phase,” he says.

Arslan, 11, remembers flood waters reaching as high as his neck. “I had never seen so much rain in my life,” he says. “I felt really scared. I didn’t know what would happen.”

He says there was little food. “We could not get food like vegetables or rice or oil. I love to eat bhindi [okra] but nothing like that was available. The water had some dead fish in it but we were scared we would get sick if we ate that. Even flour was so expensive. Our school was damaged and we were really worried that we would not be able to continue our education.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 17, 2023 at 10:37am

After the floods, the future looks bright: truck art in Pakistan – a photo essay

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/jul/17/after-th...


Arslan, whose family are still living in a tent after their home was destroyed in the floods, is studying in a temporary school set up by Save the Children.

“I remember my first day at the tent school. I was so happy, I felt as if my dream of becoming a police officer was still possible. When it felt like we would not receive an education, I thought I would lose that and I would have to do manual labour to earn a living like most of the people in the village.”


When Lakshmi, 35, returned to her village six months after the floods, she found it in ruins – homes had been destroyed, crops gone and livestock killed. But she says the tragedy formed new bonds between people.

“Everyone was so devastated by loss that the distinctions were erased,” says Lakshmi, who lives with her husband and seven children. “Whether you were Hindu or Muslim, it didn’t matter. We forgot all the things that separated us or made us different and we had to come together as a community to take care of ourselves. We had all lost everything – that was the common factor.”


Sultana says her house was “inundated with water” that stayed for about four months. “The water was as high as my knees and it was everywhere. We were afraid to go out on to the roads to seek shelter because there was so much water surrounding us,” she says.

She worries how much damage could occur during this year’s rainy season, which has already killed more than 50 people.

Sultana’s daughter, Arya Fatima, 10, had to be taken to a clinic after she contracted malaria from the mosquitoes that bred in the stagnant water surrounding their home. She also became malnourished. “I vividly remember carrying her in my arms into the clinic. She was not conscious, and I feared for her life,” says Sultana.


Arya Fatima recovered and Anchan says he remembers the excitement and joy on her face when she saw her portrait on the van.

“She was excited, but also the whole village was excited. She was a celebrity on that day because everyone, all the other girls, were congratulating her,” he says. “She was still recovering from malaria, but after everyone saw her, she felt better.”

Painting the van was a “brilliant idea”, says Anchan, “because the villagers in the affected areas are suffering a lot of things. But when we parked the truck up, the villagers celebrated and were all so excited.

“Everyone came to see the truck to see if they could recognise who has been painted, if they knew someone.”

Anchan says the project has changed his life. “I’ve decided I want to do more social projects after this. Sometimes projects change your thinking. I saw this devastation my own people suffered and I decided I can do more, not just through painting and art, but through any type of voluntary work.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 25, 2023 at 7:16am

This will not be swept away’: the bamboo homes helping Pakistan’s post-flood rebuild


https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/jul/25/this-wil...


A year ago, Shani Dana’s mudbrick house was swept away in the worst floods on record to hit Pakistan. More than 1,700 people were killed and 900,000 homes damaged or destroyed. Sindh province, where Dana lives, was the worst affected.

While waiting for government money to rebuild her home in Wasram village, in the Tando Allahyar district, word reached Dana that the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan (HFP), founded by a renowned architect, Yasmeen Lari, was building one-room homes in neighbouring Pono village.

The buildings “looked like rounded chauhras [traditional huts], but were octagonal in shape and the walls were much sturdier,” says Dana.

The HFP has helped build more than 5,000 chauhras since September. “In the next two months, I should be able to build another 2,600 homes,” says Lari, who is urging every villager who has built their home to help 10 others build theirs.

A year after the floods, tens of thousands of people are still waiting for help to rebuild. Organisations, like HFP and the NGO Karachi Relief Trust have been stepping in.

About 250 of the 1,000 one-room homes KRT is building in villages across Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan provinces should be finished by the end of August. The homes are being built using burned-earth bricks or cement blocks with roofs made of steel girders and precast cement slabs. “The houses we built in 2010 have survived and aged well,” said Ahsan Najmi, the trust’s architect.

The foundation agreed to help Wasram rebuild and in March the HFP team joined villagers to construct 50 new homes. Prefabricated bamboo frames were built on metre-high raised platforms. Walls made of bamboo canes were fixed and plastered with mud mixed with rice husk and lime, and radial-style conical roofs were fitted. Four solar panels, six water handpumps and 25 toilets were also built.

“This will not be swept away if the floods come again. It is not built at ground level, it’s airier and brighter since there is a window – ours didn’t have one before – and also looks much neater, since the walls and floor are plastered,” says Dana outside her new home.

“A loft can be built inside the room to accommodate extra trunks or space for sleeping; they can also add courtyards to extend the house,” adds Lari, a champion of sustainable, low-cost buildings, who designed the chauhras.

The HFP has helped build more than 5,000 chauhras since September. “In the next two months, I should be able to build another 2,600 homes,” says Lari, who is urging every villager who has built their home to help 10 others build theirs.

A year after the floods, tens of thousands of people are still waiting for help to rebuild. Organisations, like HFP and the NGO Karachi Relief Trust have been stepping in.

About 250 of the 1,000 one-room homes KRT is building in villages across Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan provinces should be finished by the end of August. The homes are being built using burned-earth bricks or cement blocks with roofs made of steel girders and precast cement slabs. “The houses we built in 2010 have survived and aged well,” said Ahsan Najmi, the trust’s architect.

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 25, 2023 at 7:17am

‘This will not be swept away’: the bamboo homes helping Pakistan’s post-flood rebuild


https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/jul/25/this-wil...

In Sindh province, the authorities only began disbursing the first tranche of the $727m (£577m) earmarked by the government for reconstruction – $500m from a World Bank loan and $227m from the Sindh authorities – in February.

“It took time to mobilise resources, to orient them, so that everything gets done accurately and transparently,” says Khalid Mehmood Shaikh, director of the Sindh People’s Housing Foundation (SPHF), which is overseeing the rebuilding work.

SPHF hopes 50,000 one-bedroom “resilient” cement, brick and steel homes will be livable by September. It has enough money to cover the cost of 350,000 homes, but needs at least $500m to finish all the work. “Once we have something to show on the ground, I’m hoping there will be a lot of donor support, as a lot of people have shown interest,” says Shaikh.

However, Lari questions the cost of the project and believes rebuilding could be cheaper and more sustainable. The houses SPHF is asking people to build cost 300,000 rupees (£825) each, about the same amount KRT’s homes are costing.

HFP homes, which are made of fully cured bamboo, the ends of which are covered with lime to protect them from termites, cost just 25,000 rupees. The lime in the plaster and bamboo also absorb and store carbon from the air, helping mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.

“I’m not doing anything new. I may have tweaked the design, but the material used is age-old, indigenous and easily available,” says Lari, who began her humanitarian work after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook northern Pakistan in 2005.


“People are now turning to these low-cost materials that we have been working with for nearly two decades,” says Naheem Hussain Shah, the HFP’s project manager.

The foundation recently worked with Islamic Relief to build 250 one-room homes, with toilets, in Balochistan’s Harnai district. It has also made three one-room schools for Unicef in Sindh. “The design was different, but the material is the same,” says Shah.

Environmental architect Shahid Khan, of the Indus Earth Trust, says building authorities cannot see beyond concrete and steel as “acceptable material” when building homes in urban areas. Using “good indigenous materials” such as bamboo correctly can produce buildings that can last 20 to 30 years.

Lari, who is this year’s recipient of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ royal gold medal, one of the world’s highest honours for architecture, says she would like the government to adopt sustainable alternatives to housing. “I am happy to provide any assistance if they would like to provide a better quality of life for the poor,” she says. “Our design is open source, available free. We can also identify many trained master artisans. It is up to the government. We are there to further the cause.”

An essential part of Lari’s work is involving communities in the rebuilding process so they learn a trade. While the foundation pays for the bulk of the materials and brings its expertise, local people collect the mud and rice husk, and provide the labour.

Khamo Umro, from Pono village, now earns 800 rupees a day rebuilding homes, double what he made as a farmhand. “The floods have been a blessing in disguise. For years it was my wife who was the primary earner as my work as a farmhand was off and on. But since February, I have been earning every day, which is a huge relief,” he says.

Yet, Lari doesn’t think her cheaper, alternative way to build will garner much interest from the authorities. “It uses very low-cost materials and, since the approach is participatory, it does not rely on intermediaries, so there is no possibility of pilferage or overheads.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 5, 2023 at 5:37pm

Pakistan aims to export 5 million tonnes of rice amid India ban

https://www.geo.tv/latest/502787-pakistan-aims-to-export-5-million-...


The REAP chief was optimistic about Pakistan achieving its goal of 5 million tonnes of rice worth $3 billion in the current fiscal year, which began in July.

---------------

"Pakistan expected a bumper rice crop this year," REAP chief says.
Country exported 3.7m tonnes rice valued at $2.14b last fiscal year.
This year, Kewlani says, Pakistan can export 5m tonnes of rice.

KARACHI: Pakistan's rice exports are projected to rise in the current fiscal year due to the Indian ban on rice exports and the exploration of new markets in Russia and Mexico, the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) said, according to The News.

REAP Chairman Chela Ram Kewlani said Pakistan exported 3.7 million tonnes of rice valued at $2.14 billion in the previous fiscal year, despite facing various challenges.

"Despite devastating floods, crop shortage and many other challenges, we exported 3.7 million tonnes amounting to $2.14 billion," he said.

The REAP chief was optimistic about Pakistan achieving its goal of 5 million tonnes of rice worth $3 billion in the current fiscal year, which began in July.

"India's ban on rice exports will have significant impacts on global rice trade dynamics. This will give a good opportunity for Pakistan to fill the supply gap and expand its market share in major rice-buying countries."

India, the world's biggest rice exporter, banned exports of non-basmati rice last month to ensure domestic supplies amid rising food inflation. Kewlani said Pakistan could benefit from higher export volumes and increased revenues as a result of the ban.

"Overall, the ban may create a favorable trade environment for Pakistan's rice exports." Industry officials said Pakistan's basmati rice prices soared to $500 per tonnes in the international market, up almost $100 from a month ago, as demand surged after the export ban by India.

Pakistani rice is enjoying a premium for its superior quality and could rise further to $600 per tonnes in the coming months, one trader said. "Pakistan has a golden opportunity to boost its rice exports and earn valuable foreign exchange as India has banned its rice exports due to drought." he said.

Pakistan is the world's fourth-largest rice exporter after India, Thailand, and Vietnam. Kewlani said Pakistani non-basmati rice, which was selling at $450 per tonnes before the ban, had also jumped to $500 per tonnes as buyers shifted to alternative sources.

He also said that Russia had registered 15 more Pakistani companies to export rice to the country and 12 more were in the process of registration. "This opportunity will also be beneficial for generation of extra foreign exchange for our country, as Russia is a big and potential market for Pakistani rice."

Kewlani added that a recent visit by Mexican technical experts had gone well and they were satisfied with the compliance of standard operating procedures by Pakistani rice exporters. He hoped that Mexico would soon lift a ban on Pakistani rice and resume imports.

He said Pakistan expected a bumper rice crop this year, with an annual output of around 9 million tonnes. "We hope that we can easily achieve our target of 5 million tonnes worth $3 billion this year."

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 5, 2023 at 7:49pm

In Pakistan, flood damage meant 2022/23 cane sugar production reduced to 7.2 mln tonnes compared to 8.6 mln tonnes in 21/22. The area under cane remains consistent with last season, but reduced fertilisers prices could push 23/24 sugar production to 7.8 mln tonnes.


https://www.ragus.co.uk/global-sugar-market-report-may-2023/#:~:tex....

Unpredictable rains in India and Pakistan squeeze cane production
Estimates for India’s sugar production from the 2022/23 cane crop are below the decreased figure we estimated last October. The 35.6 mln tonnes we expect is much lower than the 39 mln tonnes produced in 21/22. Any further exports onto the global market this season seem unlikely, despite India having an export quota of 6 mln tonnes for the world market.

Despite an increased area under cane, low rainfall during the growing season and too much rain just before the harvest began resulted in lower cane yields. For the 2023/24 crop, the area under cane has increased again. If the monsoon rainfall is average, we expect India to produce 36.4 mln tonnes of sugar. However, that figure only holds if there are no major increases in cane juice or molasses diverted into ethanol production. In 22/23 the equivalent of 4.5 mln tonnes of sugar was used for ethanol production. In 23/24, we expect that figure to be 3.78 mln tonnes.

If an El Niño weather pattern develops, dry conditions would affect cane planting for the 24/25 crop. In neighbouring Pakistan, flood damage meant 2022/23 cane sugar production reduced to 7.2 mln tonnes compared to 8.6 mln tonnes in 21/22. The area under cane remains consistent with last season, but reduced fertilisers prices could push 23/24 sugar production to 7.8 mln tonnes.

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