Pakistan is as an agricultural country where 75 percent of the population lives in the rural areas. The world’s financial experts have placed Pakistan on the list of 36 countries that are facing a serious food crisis.
Wheat is used as a staple food in Pakistan. In 2009 and 2010, nine million hectares area was harvested for wheat in Pakistan by all provinces. The consumption rate of wheat is 124kg/year (GAIN), which is the highest consumption rate in the world with a population of 180 million. Pakistan needs an additional 300,000 MT of wheat each year in order to maintain the current level of consumption. Almost 1,000 mills in Pakistan properly serve only 40 percent of the population due to a shortage of electricity. Since 2008, the price of wheat increased 50 percent and Pakistani consumers pay the highest price for wheat in the world. Costly fuel is one of the main reasons for the ensuing food crisis. Government policies towards the agricultural sector are also twisted. Farmers are not taken into confidence by the government about new policies framed for the agriculture sector. Our farmers are usually not familiar with the new techniques of farming, and that is why they grow inadequate crops as compared to other countries. Being uneducated, they cannot enhance their production capacity though they need to do so. There is a chance of that happening if government could set up rural academies on agricultural products, focusing on increasing production capacities of small farmers. Another thing that needs to be considered is the smuggling of edibles to other countries, as 10 to 20 percent of crops are smuggled out every year, increasing the demand-supply gap.
Government needs to take this matter seriously and ensure an extra effort to save us from a continuous food crisis.
SIDRA YASEEN,
Karachi, June 23.