A recent report by the US Department of Agriculture’s and Economic Research Service lays bare Pakistan’s food and, by extension, nutrition realities. It claims that out of 84 countries it surveyed, Pakistanis spend 47.7pc of their incomes, and the highest, on food. The Americans spend 6.6pc and even the Indians next door only 25.20pc. With basic survival hogging half of income, the quality of rest of life (health and education) is not hard to imagine.

The report is more a part of serial warnings given periodically by the national and international institutions to Pakistani policymakers. Four national health and nutritional surveys so far, latest being in 2011, by the Planning Commission of Pakistan, have also drawn the same conclusions.

This situation worsened over the decades, starting with commercialisation of agriculture after the so-called Green Revolution. Since then, food products became costlier, and the phenomenon has been universal. Since 2008, it has also witnessed two global spikes that drove millions more down the poverty line.

However, the countries (like Pakistan) with agriculture base were expected to absorb, or at least part of , these shocks through national policies and protection schemes — as the Indians have been fighting their case in the WTO and executing the world’s biggest subsidy regime.

Starting with the move towards commercialisation of agriculture after the so-called Green Revolution, food products became costlier, and the phenomenon has been universal

People are suffering on three accounts — low per capita income, high food prices and the government’s failure to provide food products at affordable prices. The wheat( staple food) prices, have been inflated by 300pc in the last seven years through official support prices. Policymakers also failed to increase and diversify domestic food production and keep a lid on prices; and the agriculture sector was taxed because others would not contribute a fair share of the tax revenue to enable the government meet its the fiscal needs.

The country is facing a food crisis, where half of the population is food insecure. Its current per capita income, calculated at 186m people, stands at $3,149 per annum. Though many economists doubt he accuracy of the figure, they place the country on abysmal 140th position on the global ranking.

The national surveys also point out limited utility of its pro-poor schemes like Benazir Income Support Fund, Food Coupon and Stamp Schemes or Sasti Roti (low priced bread). Apparently, they are simply not enough to overcome the enormous problem.

Apart from improving these schemes in concept, mechanism and pricing, the availability of food needs massive improvement. Such an effort needs a long list of steps, starting from improving the seed sector and water availability, farmers’ awareness and practices, bringing more land under cultivation, reducing cost of production and making marketing more efficient.

In addition to those steps, the government also needs to find ways to introduce urban agriculture, especially horticulture produce so that fruits and vegetables supplies could improve in the cities. The Kitchen Gardening of the Punjab was a success in rural areas, but failed to make dent in cities because there was no trained staff. The agriculture departments are mandated and equipped to work in rural areas.

All these steps need to form parts of holistic approach to improve availability of vegetables and fruits that have rich nutritional value.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, August 18th, 2014