World Bank to provide $1.3bn for agriculture, housing relief

WASHINGTON: The World Bank said on Wednesday that it intends to provide Pakistan with $1.3 billion for emergency, agriculture and housing relief in the wake of catastrophic floods this year.

“Pakistan requires substantial investments — the key is international support in order to foster people-centric climate adaptation and resilience,” said the bank’s regional director John A. Roome.

Mr Roome, who is the World Bank’s regional director for South Asia sustainable development, shared the bank’s plan with Federal Minister for National Food Security Tariq Bashir Cheema at a meeting in Islamabad.

In an earlier tweet, the World Bank official also noted that there was “a clear pathway that can deliver equitable development and climate resilience and pivot Pakistan towards a fiscally sustainable low-carbon future”.

Bank also agrees to give financial aid to subsidise urea for flood-affected farmers

The funds will be released after approval from the international lender’s board meeting in December. The bank has also agreed to provide financial support for subsidising urea for flood-affected farmers.

Earlier this month, the World Bank announced that it would provide more than $3 billion to Pakistan for infrastructure development in the energy sector.

And earlier this week, it released its climate and development report on Pakistan, pointing out that the country “urgently needs significant investments in climate resilience to secure its economy and reduce poverty”.

The report noted that Pakistan needs fundamental shifts in its development path and policies, requiring substantial investments in people-centric climate adaptation and resilience, which will require international support.

At the launch of the report, Federal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman reminded participants that Pakistan needed $348bn by 2030 to meet climate and development challenges. “So, we are looking at all of us ‘doing more’… both Pakistan as well as international financial institutions,” she said.

The report noted that productivity in Pakistan’s agri-food system — the largest employer, particularly for poor and vulnerable households — has been plummeting due to the degradation of land, overuse of chemical inputs and water, and lack of research.

It warned that yields were projected to drop another 50pc by 2050.

“To bolster rural incomes and strengthen food and water security, Pakistan needs to repurpose environmentally damaging subsidies, promote climate-smart and regenerative agriculture and livestock systems, and prioritise ecosystem restoration.”

The report also noted that Pakistan’s population living in urban areas, already highly exposed to pollution and climate change, will increase from 37pc in 2020 to 60pc in 2050. To ensure cities become more livable, it underlined the need for “urgent reforms for more integrated land use planning and increased investments in municipal services and in energy efficiency and clean transportation”.

The report pointed out that the energy sector in Pakistan was a huge drain on public finances and foreign exchange reserves and a major contributor to pollution.

“Pakistan must prioritise reducing the cost of generation including through energy efficiency, ensuring cost-reflective tariffs and improved targeting of subsidies, while addressing technical and collection losses in transmission and distribution,” the report added.

It also underlined the need to scale up investment in mass transit as it can avoid locking in highly polluting modes of transport.

At the meeting in Islamabad, Federal Minister Cheema informed the World Bank delegation that the recent floods and rain had resulted in colossal losses for the farming community.

“We are trying our utmost to provide relief and assistance to poor farmers and help them in rehabilitation,” he said.

Additional Secretary Mohammad Asif told the delegation that the Benazir Income Support Programme database could help identify farmers for the targeted subsidy.