During an official visit to China to attend SCO Security Forum in Beijing in 2005, I had the honour to sit at the dining table next to the Chinese Minister for Culture. Just to initiate an informal chat, I asked a simple question from the minister,” China is known to be perhaps the oldest civilisation with the richest culture and traditions. How would you define the contemporary culture of China?” The answer was a complete surprise for me. He said, “Having suffered from great famines and colossal loss of human lives due to hunger, we were compelled to adopt a Culture of Agriculture; that made China food surplus, and as of now, we daily dump thousands of tons of unconsumed food in the sea that comes back to us greatly multiplied. I perceived it as a pearl of wisdom and shared it with many people back home who were associated with the field of agriculture. However, Pakistan despite being an agrarian society, is still faced with unbearable food prices, consequent hunger, low-quality and adulterated food, poor health, unhappy people, and an unstable political environment. There are a host of reasons for such a sorry state, but for a layman like me, the inability to modernise farming is the main reason for Pakistan facing food shortages and people being forced to consume impure food.
Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs, and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. A ‘Cultivation culture’ is the collective responsibility to grow each other, to share knowledge, and to teach, so that collectively we can be more impactful. Culture has been called “the way of life for an entire society.” As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, and art. Agriculture is the art or science of growing food and cash crops for the consumption of human beings. In Latin, ‘agri’ means ‘field’ and ‘culture’ means ‘cultivation’, and refers to the set of work performed on land to produce food and maintain livestock. An agrarian society, or agricultural society, is any community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland. Another way to define an agrarian society is by seeing how much of a nation’s total production is in agriculture.
Farming is the characteristic activity that takes place on a farm, and typically it involves the management of a biological process, such as growing crops or raising livestock, for the purpose of harvesting products or reproducing a biological means of production. Modern-day Farming Method is also known as “industrial or conventional farming”. It is a highly mechanized and technology-driven approach to agriculture. To maximize yield, It emphasizes large-scale monoculture, utilizing genetically modified crops, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides. Farming by tractor or even by antiquated Oxen-pulled plow is an old and trusted practice followed by some farmers across the globe but more so in Pakistan. However, as the world population continues to grow, the demand for food is also increasing. Therefore, four popular modern farming methods gaining popularity among farmers all over the globe need to be adopted as per the given local environment in various parts of Pakistan, which include: Precision farming (also known as satellite farming, is a modern farming method that uses technology to manage crop production), Hydroponics (is a farming method that grows plants in a nutrient-rich water solution instead of soil. This method allows for year-round crop production and can be used in urban areas where space is limited), Aquaponics (is a farming method that combines aquaculture (fish farming) with hydroponics. This method uses fish waste to fertilise the plants, and the plants purify the water for the fish), and Vertical farming (is a modern farming method that grows crops vertically in stacked layers. One of the benefits of vertical farming is that it allows farmers to control the environment in which the plants are grown, resulting in higher yields and better-tasting crops. This method also eliminates the need for pesticides and herbicides since the plants are grown in a controlled environment. Vertical farming is also energy-efficient since LED lights can be used to provide light instead of sunlight). In conclusion, modern farming methods are revolutionising the agricultural industry by providing farmers with data-driven insights and sustainable farming options. Precision farming, hydroponics, aquaponics, and vertical farming are just a few examples of modern farming methods that are gaining popularity among farmers. These methods increase efficiency, reduce waste, and provide fresh and sustainable produce for consumers. Not all farmers have the bandwidth and access to these modern technologies, and they prefer to choose some tried and tested methods such as crop rotation, multiple crop farming, etc.
I am sure there are many more modern ways of farming available that must be in the knowledge of the agriculture experts and any more comments on the subject may be like showing a lamp to the Sun. Nevertheless, what is missing is the Government of Pakistan’s attention to accord top-most priority to food and water security by bringing home international experts, technologies, and domestic manufacture of required equipment, production of needed fertilisers and pesticides, and its availability to the farmers at lower prices to make Pakistan healthier and happier.
Saleem Qamar Butt
The writer is a retired senior army officer with experience in international relations, military diplomacy and analysis of geo-political and strategic security issues.