ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: Two working groups have assessed that around $500 million (Rs30 billion) would be needed over a period of five years for the recovery of agricultural sector in the earthquake-stricken areas, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock said on Friday.

A press release said the groups prepared the first draft of a recovery programme for the agriculture sector after a workshop held in Islamabad on Thursday that was also attended by the representatives of Azad Kashmir and NWFP government, foreign aid groups and non-governmental organizations.

It said that after the October 8 earthquake, the ministry had, in collaboration with the relevant departments in AJK and NWFP, started providing relief to the affected population.

Food supplies earmarked for the two areas were accelerated and, in response to the call by President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, work was also started on the preparation of a programme for recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction, it said.

The ministry also fielded teams of national and international experts to carry out a comprehensive assessment of damages and needs. The teams completed their field visits and have prepared preliminary reports on their findings.

These estimates were discussed at Thursday’s planning workshop that was presided over by the secretary of the ministry, Mr Ismail Qureshi. The representatives of governments of the NWFP and AJK presented findings of the damage assessments prepared with help of the two governments, all stakeholders and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

The participants included ADB, CIDA, DFID, EU, FAO, IFAD, ILO, JICA, SDC, UNDP, USAID, WB, WFP, NGOs NRSP, OXFAM, SRSP, Sungi, ICARDA, Action Aid, Islamic Relief, and farmers of the affected areas.

Following this, two working groups comprising technical experts, representatives of various donor agencies, NGOs, and local community organizations discussed the programme and ways to start the process of recovery. The members of the working groups prepared the first draft of a programme for agriculture sector, along with a set of proposals.

Total losses and requirements for post-earthquake recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction have been assessed to be around $500 million (Rs30 billion) for entire period of five years. This covers crops, livestock and infrastructure. This programme will provide the basis for initiating an organized programme for rehabilitation and reconstruction and monitoring of ongoing and planned work. It will also help raising further financial support from national and international sources.

The final report of the damage and needs assessment will be ready by November 15 and handed over to the government for the international conference on earthquake relief scheduled to be held in Islamabad on November 19.