The country's production of rice, cotton, and wheat has been negatively impacted by the devastating floods that occurred this summer.

 In the previous week, this publication stated that the country's cotton production had decreased by more than 40%, primarily as a result of the floods and climate change. It is anticipated that there will be at least a 10% decrease in rice production from the previous crop. In many areas of Sindh, planting wheat has proven challenging due to the deluge's severe impact on the soil. Cereal production may decrease significantly in the following wheat harvest.

Basically, flood-damaged crops will require Pakistan to raise its food and cotton imports to make up for domestic harvest losses. Both rice and textile exports will be impacted.

Since it will put further strain on the current account, Pakistan's dollar-starved economy can hardly afford to have more imports and fewer

exports.

Although the governor of the State Bank is optimistic that the pressure on the dwindling foreign exchange reserves will largely be offset by the declining global oil and commodity prices, many analysts are concerned that the current account deficit will be greater than the initial projections of $10 billion.

This cannot be good news for the flood-stricken economy as the cash-strapped administration struggles to impose import restrictions to reduce pressure on the external account and build reserves to avert debt default in the medium to long term.

It is anticipated that the effects of the floods on the agricultural industry and the wider economy will last for years.

The detrimental effects of the 2010 floods on farmers' lives and livelihoods took years to recover from. The current floods have caused significantly greater harm, flooding nearly a third of the nation and affecting or uprooting 33 million people. The farmers have witnessed their cattle being carried away by the rushing rivers in addition to suffering enormous crop losses.

The agriculture industry in the nation has long been in dire straits as a result of a variety of issues, including bad government policies, a lack of funding for agricultural research, climate change, and a lack of mechanization. This may be seen in the declining farm earnings and agricultural yields, as well as the increased rural poverty and food shortages.

Long before the floods occurred, Pakistan had been a net importer of food and cotton for its sizable textile sector. The downpour this year has made our agricultural problems and food insecurity worse and will continue to harm the economy and people for years to come.

The agriculture package the prime minister offered is necessary to help the sector recover and the farmers who were impacted by the floods, but it is insufficient. To transform farming in a sustainable manner, we need long-term policy, significant investments in rural infrastructure, and research to deal with climate change.