ISLAMABAD, May 19: Speakers on Thursday warned against increasing food insecurity in Balochistan because of water shortages, problems around landholdings, and smuggling of essential commodities to Afghanistan.

The roundtable on 'State of Food Insecurity in Balochistan' was organised by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) and ActionAid Pakistan.

Presenting data on food insecurity, the panelists called for swift action by the federal and provincial governments and other stakeholders to address the damages caused by the last year's floods, and added that the province needed a long-term plan to rehabilitate its agriculture.

They said the 2010 floods destroyed around 60 per cent of water courses in Jaffarabad alone, adding that almost all the paddy fields in various agricultural areas like Jhal Magsi and Naseerabad were destroyed.

“The 22 per cent of land in Jaffarabad and 15 per cent in Jhal Magsi was not cultivated for the last wheat crop due to unavailability of agricultural inputs and land related issues,” Nasir Aziz, policy officer of ActionAid Pakistan, said. He added that if these issues were not addressed, it could result in severe food insecurity in the province in the coming years.

He said poverty and increasing food prices have resulted in reducing food intake by ordinary citizens in the province. “But the most serious issue is lack of significant efforts by the government to rehabilitate irrigation infrastructure and agriculture,” Mr Aziz said. “In last year's floods, 30-35 per cent livestock perished.”

The roundtable called for starting small livestock schemes for women in Balochistan and increasing the outreach of Benazir Income Support Programme and Pakistan Baitul Maal in the province's most affected areas.

Mubashir Akram of CRSS said 27 of the total 30 districts of Balochistan are food-deficient. He also referred to the 2009 World Bank report, saying that 20 districts in Pakistan are chronically food deficient.

Out of them, 10 are in Balochistan. “Six districts in Balochistan produced surplus wheat in 2009-10, but even these districts are food-deficient after the 2010 floods.” Mr Akram said.

He informed the participants that Balochistan was getting around 66 per cent of its food needs from Punjab and Sindh, which has caused price-hike, hoarding and manipulation by market players.

He regretted that the provincial government had not devised any “cohesive strategy” to counter food insecurity, adding that most of the development activities in Balochistan were in and around few cities.

Peer Syed Mudassir Nazar Shah, chairman Centre for Islamic Research Collaboration and Learning (CIRCL), said the biggest challenge to food security in Balochistan was smuggling of food items to Afghanistan. “The worsening law and order situation in Balochistan is adding to food insecurity,” he said, but also blamed the “Baloch tribal leaders and the insurgents” for it.

He termed the Nawabs and Sardars of Balochistan as one of the hurdles in development, including growth of small scale agriculture in most of the province.