Islamabad: Due to the recent floods, the national poverty rate is expected to increase up to 7%, another one and a half million people have gone below the poverty line.
More than 8 million acres of crops have been destroyed, loss of 320 billion rupees to the agricultural economy, shortage of vegetables and fruits in the markets, the victims are living without services.
According to a Wealth Pak report, recent floods caused by abnormal monsoon rains have pushed people into extreme poverty. Before the floods, the poverty level in Pakistan was estimated at 39.2 percent for the fiscal year 2021-22 and was expected to decrease to 37.9 percent in the fiscal year 2022-23.
However, the floods changed all expectations about poverty alleviation. A spokesperson of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund told Wealth Pak that the monsoon floods caused extreme poverty across the country and most of the victims in the flooded areas are farmers.
He said that according to the assessment of the World Bank, floods will have a profound impact on life and livelihood.
The World Bank indicated that the national poverty rate could rise further from 4.5 percent to 7 percent, affecting an additional 9.9 million and 15.4 million people respectively.
The collapse of the agricultural sector would also increase poverty. Agriculture sector contributes 24% to the GDP growth rate making it the mainstay of the economy.
