Experts Urge for Modernize Agriculture To Ensure Food Security

Dr. Zia Ul Haque Shamsi stated that Pakistan, the world’s fifth-largest state and a predominantly agrarian society, was unfortunately facing serious food insecurity concerns.

Experts Urge for Modernize Agriculture To Ensure Food Security

Experts have urged the government and key stakeholders to reform and modernize agriculture, as well as control population growth, in order to ensure food security for the country’s national security.

According to a news release, this was the main message of the eminent speakers at the seminar on “Food Security for Pakistan,” organised by the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS) on Thursday.

Dr. Zia Ul Haque Shamsi stated that Pakistan, the world’s fifth-largest state and a predominantly agrarian society, was unfortunately facing serious food insecurity concerns for a variety of reasons.

This was especially troubling because efforts were underway to improve agriculture processes through modernize methods, improved seed development, and resource management. He said Pakistan still had a long way to go in terms of ensuring food security for its growing population at an affordable cost.

Syed Fakhar Imam stated that national security, international security, and food security were all inextricably linked and could not be separated.

He bemoaned the fact that, of the five major crops, wheat was grown on 36% of the land, which was the source of the problem. Unfortunately, Pakistan has not succeeded in developing high-yield crop varieties, he added. Imam contended that, despite having five major agri-universities and affiliated colleges, they were not up to international standards and had outdated curricula.

According to him, the population explosion is also a major reason why Pakistan is now a wheat importer. He added that mechanisation, modernization, agricultural extension, human resource development, and research are critical factors in strengthening Pakistan’s agro-economy.

Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri underlined that the “triple C” crises of COVID, conflict, and climate change were forcing states across the globe to question and rethink their healthcare systems, economic policies, and ways of producing and consuming food, but Pakistan had a “tetra-C” crisis given its “complacency.”

He noted that even before the super floods and the Russia-Ukraine war, Pakistan was ranked ninth on the list of countries with the worst food insecurity.

According to him, the Punjab Food Department’s policy of releasing subsidised wheat to flour mills in April 2022, as opposed to its previous policy of releasing stocks in September, caused the current wheat flour crisis by allowing the private sector to hoard its reserves.

Dr. Suleri warned that future generations in Pakistan were at risk of malnutrition, wasting, stunting, and low IQ. He urged for shifting to precision agriculture technologies, adopting climate-smart agri-practices, integrating social safety nets for farmers, including weather index-based insurance, improving agri-institutional arrangements, offering smart subsidies, and solarizing tube wells, among others.

Ashfaq Mahmood provided an overview of Pakistan’s water resources under the Indus Waters Treaty and transboundary waters while analysing the availability of water for agricultural needs.

He stated that glaciers, snowmelt, and rains were major water sources for Pakistan. According to him, the effects of global warming and climate change have made it difficult to ensure the country’s long-term water management.