Storyline: Pakistan's monsoon season is threatening farmers' livelihoods and putting the nation's food supply at risk, as early rice crops become submerged amid flooding. Punjab is known as the breadbasket of Pakistan, producing over 60 percent of the country's total agricultural output. But heavy rains and floods in the province's Sheikhupura region have turned vast farmlands into lakes. Farmers' livelihoods have been devastated, and experts warn this could deal a major blow to Pakistan's food security. Shahid Hussain, a farmer who had obtained 30 acres of land on lease, suffered heavy losses when all his fields were flooded. Production across Punjab and Sindh plunged by 13.5 percent in the 2024‑2025 crop year due to extreme weather and policy failures. Rice alone fell by about 1.4 percent. Talib Ali, a farmer who had also leased a small piece of land, said his earnings from the previous year were drowned in the flood. Now, he does not know how his family will survive the next season. "There is so much water that the rented machinery drowned. I had just recently planted seeds. Those have died. I don't even have seeds for the next crop," said Ali. Government figures show floods damaged over 0.7 million acres of Punjab farmland in this monsoon alone. With more than 11 million people already facing acute food insecurity this past lean season, losing staple crops now only worsens that crisis. "Everything's gone, water filled our homes and fields. Our cattle have also died. No one has come to our aid," said Ali. Experts have warned that climate-related losses in wheat and rice could cost Pakistan over 19 billion U.S. dollars by 2050 unless adaptation improves. Punjab's harvest now depends on swift drainage, seed aid, and major investment in flood resilience. Without these, harvests will shrink, food prices will rise and Pakistan's food security will be undermined. Shotlist: Sheikhupura, Pakistan - July 21, 2025: 1. Aerial shots of flooded fields 2. Various of flooded fields, farmer walking in fields 3. SOUNDBITE (Punjabi, dubbed in English) Shahid Hussain, farmer: "I paid hundreds of thousands of rupees in advance. After the flood, our fields have died. It will take more than a month for the water to dry. After that, the season will end. This was our only source of income." 4. Aerial shots of flooded areas 5. Various of farmer walking in flooded fields 6. SOUNDBITE (Punjabi, dubbed in English) Talib Ali, farmer (starting with shot 5): "There is so much water that the rented machinery drowned. I had just recently planted seeds. Those have died. I don't even have seeds for the next crop." 7. Various of flooded fields 8. SOUNDBITE (Punjabi, dubbed in English) Talib Ali, farmer (starting with shot 7): "Everything's gone, water filled our homes and fields. Our cattle have also died. No one has come to our aid." 9. Various of flooded fields 10. Aerial shot of flooded houses, fields. [Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]