PAKISTAN is an agricultural country, but recent reports suggest that we are now highly dependent on food imports to feed our growing population. We import, among other things, ginger from China and Thailand, tomatoes from Iran, wheat from Ukraine, Germany, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, sugar from Egypt and the UAE. Countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE were importers of food in the past, but are now exporters.

When we have bumper crops, they are promptly exported only to be imported later at a higher price. This leads to serious fluctuations in the market and price hikes. Surplus food grains should be stored for use during shortages. Sugar is also a storable commodity.

Owing to lack of cold storage facilities, the prices of perishable vegetable skyrocket when crops fail. For example, ginger is sold for Rs600 per kg. When there is a surplus, the price falls below production cost and farmers lose money.

Since the per capita availability of water has fallen below 1,000 cubic metres, agricultural production has been adversely affected. Yield per cubic metre of water must be increased by using modern irrigation methods, such as drip and sprinkler, instead of the traditional inundation. PVC pipes should be used to transfer water from source to farm in place of open canals. Both these steps will save considerable amount of water.

Per acre yield of crops can be increased by research and development of better seed to suit the local conditions. Food production has not kept pace with population growth because of migration from rural to urban areas. Farmers and villagers are selling their agricultural lands to housing developers and moving to cities in search of jobs without having any marketable skills. This is also causing civic and social problems. The relevant authorities must make policies to curb the declining production of food.

Asif Jah
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2020