Around 16 pc people face acute food insecurity in Pakistan: FAO official

Islamabad [Pakistan], October 21 (ANI): Due to devastating floods and faulty country politics, around 15-16 per cent of citizens of Pakistan are reeling under food insecurity and the situation continues to get worse with every passing day.
Describing Pakistan's food crisis as the worst one in the South Asian country's history, the deputy representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Farrukh Toirov, said that the situation of the nation has only crumbled due to covid pandemic and recent floods, Dawn reported.
The FAO official made the remark while speaking at a seminar on 'Poverty Eradication and Food Security,' Dawn reported.
"9.5 acres of agricultural land across the country has been inundated by flood water and government statistics shows that about 4.5 million acres of the crops have incurred extensive damage," he said.
Toirov further called for cooperation between international partners and the Pakistan government to tackle poverty crisis.
Dawn reported quoting Chris Kaye, the country director of the World Food Programme and said that capitalising on the agricultural production capacity of the country is the need of the hour.
"345 million people in 82 countries were faced with food insecurity and the number was 282 million at the beginning of 2022 and 135 million before Covid-19," he said adding that the number of people vulnerable to famine-like situations has increased 10 times in the past five years and 4 million people are in phase IV of the famine in Pakistan making it a crucial situation for the country.
Separately, Irshad Khan Abbasi, the head of innovation and integration, at Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) stated that the South Asian country holds the 92nd position on the Global Hunger Index (GH).
High food prices, lack of rainfall, drought, and livestock diseases, have all added to the food insecurity in Pakistan.
In addition, the intrusion of seawater in the littoral areas of Pakistan also threatens food security in Pakistan, reported IIFRAS. Seawater decreases the productivity of fertile agricultural lands causing food scarcity, and other economic woes. It further triggers the dilapidation of natural resources such as livestock, vegetation, land, and many others.
Food insecurity impacts women, children and rural households leading to socio-economic inequalities and causing a rise in the number of food-insecure households. (ANI)