IN its forthcoming fifth and final budget, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s PTI-led coalition government is unlikely to break any new ground by denying substantial funding to agriculture to make the province self-sufficient in food.
Over the past four years, agriculture got only 1.5-2.5pc of the amount earmarked for the province’s annual development programme. The allocation is nominal when compared to agriculture’s contribution of around 24pc of the provincial GDP. Farming engages more than 50pc of the labour force.
In the year 2015-16, an amount of Rs1.829bn was utilised in the sector.
An official of the agriculture department said agriculture was not a priority and the sector suffered from lack of research capacity, use of outdated technology, non-availability of training programmes to develop human capital, and low resource allocation.
The allocation is nominal when compared to agriculture’s contribution of around 24pc of the provincial GDP
With agriculture neglected, the province remains largely dependent on Punjab for meeting food deficits. The list includes wheat, sugar, rice, pulses and vegetables supplies.
KP’s agriculture suffers from very low productivity given the farming landscape of the province. Nearly 80pc of its population lives in rural and peri-urban areas, whereas about 85pc people directly or indirectly earn their livelihood from farming and related activities.