Effects of Flood on Livestock of Pakistan

In addition to the loss of human life and material goods, the terrible floods that occurred on August 27 wreaked havoc on the livestock and poultry sectors in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the livestock department has assessed losses of over Rs2 billion to this day.

The devastating flood that started in Kalam Swat and passed through different districts including Dir, Malakand, Mohmand, Charsadda, Nowshera, and DI Khan had swept away hundreds of thousands of buffalo, cows, sheep, goats, and poultry, inflicting colossal losses to farmers and livestock practitioners. The flood broke the record for floods that had occurred over the course of the previous 30 years.

The gushing water has caused damage to 727,144 livestock across the country since June 14, 2022, including 202,593 in the province of Punjab, 500,000 in the province of Balochistan, 15,008 in the province of Sindh, 8,771 in the province of Khyber Pakthunkhwa, and 772 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. These damages were caused by the destruction of poultry and livestock shelters and farms.

Flood waters from the rivers Swat, Punjkora, Khayail, Kabul, and Sindh caused severe damage to the livestock and poultry sectors in the provinces of Swat, Dir, Charasadda, Nowshera, Tank, and DI Khan. As a result, animal and poultry shelters were destroyed almost immediately.

“I had received previous information about floods threat, however, as night was around the corner, I did not take it seriously,” Muhammad Sohail, a cattle farmer of flood affected Mohib Banda village of Nowshera, told reporters. “I had received prior information about floods threat.”

According to a cattle farmer who is 28 years old, “Unfortunately, I should have taken the flood threat issued by the district administration seriously and avoided huge financial loss by saving my buffalo from being washed away in flood water in River Kabul.” This statement was made by the individual.

On September 14, the Livestock Department will begin a new phase of the distribution of chicken birds to persons living in rural parts of the division at subsidized rates.

As a result of the harm done to the poultry industry, the price of poultry in Lahore is always going up. The price of a chicken in Lahore was 236 on the 18th of August; however, the chicken rate today Lahore has jumped to 384 today.

to make up for the damage caused by the flood. People who are in need will be able to purchase chicken birds in the city of Faisalabad for a cost of Rs 1,180 per unit, which would include 11 hens and one cock.

On Tuesday, the Director of Livestock, Dr. Abdul Rehman, stated that 90 poultry units would be distributed across each district, which includes Jhang, Chinon, and Toba Tek Singh.

He stated that the purpose of this plan was to foster the growth of the poultry business in order to give people access to high-quality protein in the form of eggs and chicken meat.

In this regard, he mentioned that applications were being accepted at the workplaces of the deputy directors of livestock in the various districts.