British aid helps to end food aid dependency for 115,000 families in Pakistan

15 October 2010

British aid will ensure that more than 115,000 families in Pakistan affected by the floods will escape having to depend on food aid for another year or more, UK Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell announced today.

This support from British taxpayers will ensure crop packages reach some of the most vulnerable households in flood-hit areas, so that they can plant wheat seeds before the end of the 'Rabi' winter crop planting window in mid to late November. In addition, vegetable seeds that take as little as six weeks to grow will provide families with a fast source of food or produce for sale, while livestock owners will receive feed and basic veterinary medicines. Four out of five people affected by the recent floods are dependent on farming either for food or to make a living.

More than two million hectares of crops have been destroyed – up to 90 per cent of the harvest – and seeds stored for sowing have also been ruined. Livestock owners have lost as many as 80 per cent of their animals in some areas, and now face a shortage of fodder and the increased risk of disease amongst the undernourished and traumatised animals that have survived.

Speaking on the eve of World Food Day, Andrew Mitchell, UK Secretary of State for International Development, said:

"The two million hectares of crops destroyed in Pakistan is a timely reminder of how vulnerable farmers and agriculturalists in the developing world remain to sudden shocks and unpredictable disasters such as the floods.

"As people in Pakistan begin to return to what's left of their homes, they are finding food supplies and crops ruined, more than six million chicken killed and around a million sheep and goats. It's therefore vital that we help people plant new crops in this narrow window over the next month or so, and ensure that livestock that has survived isn’t now lost to disease or lack of food. Otherwise, those affected by the flooding could remain dependent on food aid for the next year, with massive repercussions for jobs and incomes."

DFID will promote food security working with the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation through:

• Crop packages of wheat seed and fertilizer that will allow nearly 40,000 of the most vulnerable households to sow one acre before the end of the ‘Rabi’ winter crop planting window, potentially providing each family with 1.1 tonnes of wheat at harvest;
• Packs containing a variety of vegetable seeds intended for back garden production to provide a quick-growing source of food or cash income within six to eight weeks;
• Three month supplies of feed concentrate or fodder along with basic veterinary medicines to go to 77,200 households with livestock, and fodder seed so that more feed can quickly be grown;
• Advice and training to all recipients in how to care for livestock or how to best plant and grow crops and vegetables.

This funding comes out of the £70 million (nearly 9.5 billion rupees) announced by Andrew Mitchell at the UN in New York on 19 September 2010. The UK Government will allocate the remaining funds over the coming weeks and months, which will go towards helping people rebuild their lives, such as providing more seeds and tools and getting children back in to school. The UK Government has now committed a total of £134 million (18 billion rupees), while the UK public has generously donated more than £60 million (8 billion rupees) through the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal.

The UK was one of the first countries to respond to this crisis. UK aid has so far provided funding towards UN airlifts; twelve planes (five Royal Air Force) funded by British taxpayers packed full of vital aid; emergency shelter for more than 100,000 families; 50,000 blankets; 218,000 water containers; tens of thousands of hygiene kits; safe drinking water for millions of people; thousands of toilets; one month food packages for nearly one million people; an emergency field camp in the worst affected area near Sukkur; help for half a million malnourished children and pregnant/breastfeeding women; emergency health care; 650 new born baby kits; and much more.