| Project Detail |
In the KP province, the agriculture sector accounts for around 19% of the provincial gross
domestic product and employs 32% of the labor force.1 The KP province faces high food
insecurity, poverty, and climate and disaster vulnerability. The province’s food insecurity and
poverty rates are indicated at 30.0% and 27.0% in 2019, respectively. Malnutrition (stunting) in
the KP province stood at around 40.0% in 2018, which is only slightly better than in Balochistan
and Sindh. Comparing to other provinces, KP has the smallest average land holdings, i.e., 1.5
hectares (ha). Due to subsistence farming, use of uncertified and less-resilient seeds, inefficient
use of fertilizers, low soil fertility, and poor weed and pest management practices, the average
yield of staple crops in the province is much less than the national average yield. KP produces
1.5 million tons of wheat while its consumption is 5.0 million tons showing a production gap of
70.0%. To fill this gap, KP imports 3.5 million tonnes of wheat from other provinces.
The recent floods due to climate change have caused devastating damage to assets, livelihoods
and recent gains made in the agricultural sector. The highest agricultural losses are recorded in
crops. Crop losses worth PKR 16,171 million have been recorded in twenty districts of KP. Water
courses worth PKR 770 million have been damaged that include 1,116 water courses and
channels and 44 water storage tanks. Gomal Command Area Development Project has reported
damages worth PKR 978 million, with 99 water courses fully damaged and 113 partially
damaged. Moreover, an area of 2,881 acres of land is damaged and in need of leveling and
rehabilitation, estimated to cost PKR 95 million. Furthermore, 575 soil and water conservation
schemes are reported as damaged with a total loss of PKR 620 million. The recent floods have
caused damages of around PKR 23 billion.
2
The KP agriculture department needs to support famers to mitigate and adapt the changing
climate and associated disasters e.g. floods and droughts. Mitigating and adapting climate change
is also obligatory for the all provinces in Pakistan as it is signatory to the Paris agreement. To
address the challenges faced by agriculture sector, the Government of KP has made continuous
efforts in preparing and implementing various relevant policies, strategies and action plans.3
It
responded with the Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Framework (4RF)
plan, KP Agriculture Policy 2015-25, KP Climate Change Policy 2022 and the KP Food Security
Policy 2021. Despite the provincial government's efforts in responding to the ongoing challenges,
there is still need for the external funding from the donor agencies to support the Annual
Development Programs (ADP) and to meet the rising challenges of the food security and climate
change in the province. A timely assistance to bridge the funding gap is critical to foster economic
growth, reduce food and nutrition insecurity and impacts of changing climate in KP.
This project document elucidates the concept of a ADB loan project which will bridge the funding
gap and contribute to (i) increased agricultural productivity through providing flood-affected
smallholding farmers with critical agriculture inputs and training in safe and efficient use of those
agricultural inputs; (ii) improved household nutrition and food security through provision of
kitchen gardening, food processing, seed cleaning and storage toolkits and training to women
household members; (iii) increased institutional resilience and preparedness for climate induced
disasters. |
