Pakistan urged to introduce flood-resistant crops 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan should introduce flood-tolerant crop varieties, similar to those successfully adopted in Bangladesh and India, to protect agriculture from increasingly destructive monsoon floods, according to a new research report released by EMPAK Strategies.

The report, titled “Fields Under Water: Building Agricultural Resilience,” warns that unless proven agricultural adaptation measures are implemented nationwide before the 2027 monsoon season, Pakistan could face another major agricultural and food security crisis.

According to the report, more than 3,900 villages in Punjab were inundated during the 2025 monsoon floods, while over 2.2 million hectares of farmland were affected. The agricultural sector suffered losses exceeding US$1.23 billion, and up to 60 percent of Punjab’s rice crop was destroyed. The report says recurring floods are no longer isolated disasters but have become a structural threat to Pakistan’s rural economy and national food security.

EMPAK Strategies recommends introducing Sub1 flood-tolerant rice varieties, which have been widely adopted in Bangladesh and parts of India. These rice varieties can remain completely submerged for 10 to 17 days and still produce a meaningful harvest.

The report notes that while Sub1 rice has become a standard variety in several flood-prone regions of Bangladesh and India, its use in Pakistan remains limited to pilot projects in only a few districts of Punjab.

The report also recommends promoting short-duration cotton varieties that mature before the peak flood season in August, enabling farmers to harvest their crops before floodwaters arrive and significantly reducing agricultural losses.