Agriculture is pivotal to Pakistan’s economic growth. Pakistan is one of the world’s largest producers and suppliers of many crops and fruits. It adds 21.4% to GDP annually and employs 45% of country’s labour force. Majority of our population depends on it directly or indirectly.
But due to our negligence the situation has gotten worse. There are many reasons for that but housing schemes tops the list. According to some information Lahore alone has lost around 20,000 acres to housing, factories and other non agricultural activities during the past decade. People prefer to build their houses in top societies for security reasons and it also has become a status symbol. But this merciless destruction of agricultural land can bring severe food crises putting influence on Pakistan’s overall population.
From some time there is a notable decrease in sowing major and minor crops. Besides this the country’s population is increasing and every day almost 500 acres of farmland is taken out which means less food production and less export. This will eventually lead to unemployment crippling our economy.
In a nutshell, I want to convey a message through this platform to the government and land management organizations to focus on saving our agricultural land otherwise our economy will be damaged irrevocably.
RUMAISA ANWAR,
Rawalpindi, November 19.