Daily Times

KARACHI: There is a dire need to tackle the silent food security crisis that Pakistan is facing as no serious steps were taken to improve the condition for decades.

It is time to ward off the looming crisis and all the stakeholders need to not only fight challenges Pakistan is facing in this regard but put up integrated efforts to counter this future crisis. Pakistan sustains one of the lower rates in the world.

United Nations (UN)’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Pakistan chapter and Pakistan is celebrating World Food Day (WFD) on October 16.

FAO was founded in 1945 and the day is celebrated in more than 151 countries concerned with food security and agriculture.

Society for Conservation and Protection of Environment (SCOPE) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tanveer Arif told Daily Times that food prices had also led to an adverse impact on health and nutrition in various ways.

Poor food consumption increases malnutrition, which in turn heightens susceptibility to disease, both may lead to higher mortality rates, he added. He said further the federal government has drafted a paper ‘Pakistan Food Security Plan’ in this regard, but there was a little hope it could be matured as strong will is needed to implement it.

Around 48 percent of the country’s population is facing nutrition issue. Mostly population in Thar area of Sindh, Balochistan and areas in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were facing the issue.

In Pakistan, food security is linked to agriculture as it provides employment to 45 percent of total population and input for agro-based industry.

Ghulam Rabbani, an agriculturist and senior member of Pakistan Yarn Merchant Association, said that the government is taking necessary steps with consultation of provinces to improve agriculture sector for food security.

Now, cotton seed oil is also widely used for human consumption. Cotton has become a fibre-cum-oil yielding crop. Seeds contain 20-25 percent protein. In future, cotton will become a source of fibre, oil and protein, he added.

Pakistan’s agriculture has always produced sufficient food for the domestic need of fast growing population. Pakistan is the world’s 4th largest producer of cotton, 5th largest producer of sugarcane and milk, 8th largest producer of wheat and exporter of surplus rice, mangoes, fruits and many vegetables and horticulture products, he said.

Pakistan is currently having 8.35 million farm households that are contributing to agricultural production of Pakistan. Almost 80 percent of the land holdings are less than 5 acres of land.

The National Food Security and Research Ministry and provincial departments should help the Pakistan Agriculture and Research Council to achieve sustainable production in agriculture for food security, he said.

The government needs to provide assistance as around 85 percent small farmers could not buy tractors and other agricultural tools and machinery.

Performance of the agriculture sector reduced after the devolution of agriculture ministry to provinces under 18th Constitutional Amendment, he added.

People producing food were deprived of their due rights and role of middleman should be limited as he was exploiting the farmers through unjust market practices, he added. He said, “Reducing role of middleman and initiating value addition of agriculture products would help eradicate rural poverty.”

Almost 60 percent of around 200 million Pakistanis live in rural areas and are directly or indirectly involved in agricultural activities besides doing poultry, livestock and fisheries businesses.

There is a big dearth of skilled farm labour and little training is imparted in relevant field.

Though the government has initiated many national level programmes to counter food security in Pakistan, but implementation is slow, Rabbani opined.

All provincial governments should approve and implement provincial multi-sectoral strategies in this respect by allocating required financial and human resources.