Experts Urge for Modernize Agriculture To Ensure Food Security

The report recommended the government of Pakistan maintain a security stock constituting a fraction of national consumption, as is done in other countries in the region.

Agriculture productivity will increase if the government’s involvement in wheat and other crop markets is reduced in order to promote the sector’s resource allocation on the basis of the market.

According to a World Bank report titled “From Swimming in Sand to High and Sustainable Growth in Pakistan,” farmers will diversify into other crops that are becoming more important in Pakistani households’ food baskets as a result of a reduced government presence in wheat markets.

The report recommended the government of Pakistan maintain a security stock constituting a fraction of national consumption, as is done in other countries in the region, such as Bangladesh.

It added that food security was a valid policy priority that did not require the current procurement system that is in place for wheat.

In addition to the security stock, a strategic reserves management system should be set up and equipped with contemporary bulk storage infrastructure, early warning systems, market information, a food security fund, and policy pliability to ensure trade policies facilitate the smoothing of reserves in case of need through importing or exporting.

To encourage farmers to switch to alternative crops like oilseeds, pulses, and fodder, or fruits and vegetables when they are closer to markets, provincial agriculture departments could support alternatives for wheat planting areas that show very low productivity.

In Sindh, for instance, household spending on high-value food items is rising while consumption of cereals and other crops (including sugar) has decreased over the past two decades.

However, despite the suitability of local agro-climatic conditions, shorter durations, and lower water requirements, the agri-food system has not adjusted to these changing consumption patterns, and the demand for pulses, rapeseed, mustard, and other water-efficient, high-value crops is met by imports.

Each year, Pakistan spends US$3.0-US$3.5 billion on the importation of oil seeds and US$0.7 billion on the importation of pulses. Pakistan is paying the opportunity cost in scarce foreign currency of lost economic productivity and water conservation.

The report also recommended removing import protection, export subsidies, minimum prices, and licensure requirements for new millers. It also recommended increasing competition in the sugar and wheat subsectors.

It further stated that licensing requirements for millers create an oligopoly and lower welfare for farmers and consumers. The efficient use of land and equipment, which could be used for higher-productivity crops, is distorted by interventions, which, in turn, rationalize water use and increase climate resilience.