Pakistan struggling to achieve food security

Pakistan struggling to achieve food security, says a United Nations report




The prices of staple grains like wheat and rice have been stable but are “significantly higher”

ISLAMABAD: Despite the efforts of the Pakistani government and international organisations, inflation, declining income, natural disasters and stagnating domestic productivity are hampering attempts to achieve food security for the country’s 180 million citizens.

More than half of Pakistani households are food insecure, according to the last major national nutrition survey, reports the Integrated Regional Information Network of the United Nations.

The prices of staple grains like wheat and rice have been stable but are “significantly higher” than 2011, according to the World Food Program’s (WFP) October 2012 Global Food Security Update.A 25% rise in fuel prices has also pushed up the price of food, as it becomes increasingly expensive to transport. The WFP says rising food prices in international markets recently may also lead to price hikes in Pakistan.

 

“Efforts have to be made to increase production, but in Pakistan, the problem of food security is mainly a problem of access. Over the last couple of years, Pakistan has officially been a food surplus country in terms of cereal production,” says Krishna Pahari, head of WFP’s Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping unit in Islamabad.

“But many households here don’t have access to that food. Many are marginal, deficit, subsistence farmers whose own production is not enough to meet their needs. You’re a farmer, but you have to buy food from the market because of insufficient production.”

Despite concerns, some experts believe that because Pakistan’s primary food security issue is access, there are ways to handle it.

“This also provides an opportunity,” says Pahari. “It means that in terms of the national food situation, maybe Pakistan is ok. With good management, and by putting mechanisms in place to improve access, there is potential to ensure food security.”

Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy, contributing 21% of the country’s GDP and employing 45% of the labour force. The lack of innovation and a failure to increase efficiency at farms across Pakistan, however, has led to stagnant productivity.

“In 1999, our production per acre of wheat was 1,040-1,090 kilogrammes. Look at how much our population has increased in the last 13 years, but our production per acre for wheat today is the same,” said Ibrahim Mughal, chairman of the Pakistan Agri Forum, one of the country’s largest farmers’ organisations.

Many farms employ antiquated farming methods, and the inefficient use of water also contributes to poor productivity. Water availability in Pakistan, where a large percentage of agriculture relies on irrigation, has been dwindling. Experts say if water is not utilised more efficiently, production is likely to decline, and could dramatically impact food security.

The failure to boost domestic productivity has meant an increasing burden on what is harvested, with Pakistan’s population growing at the fastest rate in South Asia. Poor economic performance over the last five years means millions of Pakistanis have less to spend on increasingly expensive food.

Rising global grain prices have also adversely affected food security in Pakistan.

 

“International prices have gone up, but on the domestic level, farmers are getting a lower procurement price. So they’re not interested and may shift to other crops,” said Mughal.

According to the Pakistan Agri Forum, based on the cultivation trend so far, the 2012-13 wheat production target of 26 million tons is unlikely to be realised. Poor food security has a direct impact on the population, experts say, which leads to indirect consequences for the country’s already weak economy.

“That the food security situation is very serious overall is reflected in the very poor, very serious nutrition outcomes,” said WFP’s Pahari. “If we look at [the number of children with low weight for their height], the rate in Pakistan is 15.1% for children under five. Any value above 15 is considered an emergency level by the WHO.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2012.

 

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