Food and fuel are both getting scarce in Pakistan. Hunger has become a real threat for the first time in the country. For an agricultural economy like Pakistan this poses a major challenge. We have limited options and only astute planning can bail us out. Fuel is a big challenge and requires more sustained efforts. Coal is our only viable option to meet our fuel requirements. Having one of the largest deposits of Coal at Thar (175 billion tons), we continue to rely on foreign fuel supplies. In 2004 a complete framework was developed for commercial exploitation of this vital resource by Pakistan Science Foundation. After wasting valuable time, finally in 2007 it was decided to launch the Thar Coal Mining Company (TCMC) which is still not operational. Every natural deposit requires dedicated research efforts to make it a commercially viable entity. Unfortunately, Pakistan seriously lags behind in this effort. Several deposits remain un-tapped. The Kalabagh Iron Qre, Ferro-chrome at Hindu Bagh and Copper in Waziristan to name a few require serious consideration. Coal can be upgraded, gasified, briquetted and also used as fluidised bed to generate about 40, 000 MW of electrical power, which can meet most of the country's energy requirements. The residues can be used to establish down stream industries, thereby creating jobs. In the short-term Pakistan must sign preferential contracts with friendly OPEC countries to obtain oil at subsidised rates. Countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia can help their brothers in distress by supplying the much-needed oil to keep us going till our coal sector is developed. Without appropriate fuel the entire industrial sector faces closure as it is short on transportation. After the Chinese onslaught the industry has barely recovered, now it faces annihilation due to lack of power and fuel. The repaid production of bio-fuels has also created problems for the Third World countries. Food items are being used to produce diesel oil thereby creating shortages of food staples. Hunger must be addressed as it can create serious global issues. Non-food seeds have been developed to produce bio-diesel that can grow on marginal lands with very little water intake. While food crops can be planted on rich soils, non-food crops should be selected for poor areas. Jatropha is a wonder plant which seeds in about three years. The oil from these seeds can be converted to diesel after esterification while the residue can be used to produce detergents. Castor is another candidate. Oil seeds have become a big import item and most of these seeds can grow on marginal lands. The coastal areas can be put under Palm Oil growth and production while up-country marginal lands can be used for planting sunflower. In the 70's Pakistan was self-sufficient in oil seed production, today it is the second largest import item followed by tea. The food seeds can reduce the food import bill while the bio-fuel seeds can bring down the fuel prices. As a nation we must prepare for this international onslaught by focusing on our indigenous resources. Agriculture or horticulture has been our forte since ages. Our salvation lies in building on our strengths and covering our weaknesses with an ever-growing population of 160 million people Pakistan dearly needs food and fuel. Our finance minister has pointed out the pressure on the economy by the unprecedented rises. Countries like Pakistan cannot sustain such out of control prices. The problems of Pakistan are gigantic and require out of the box solutions. While we struggle as a nation to revive our institutions and establish the rule of law, food and fuel requirement cannot be ignored. As a nation we have to focus on our basic survival needs and formulate strategies for short-term relief and long term sustainability. Agriculture is our future and the agro-based industry has to be built around this strength, even fuel requirements can be met through this approach. Let us look inwards and support our farmers to help us overcome the challenges of food and fuel.