Risks to agri sector

Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan's economy but faces certain immediate risks which need to be tackled to resume its growth. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, area under agriculture crops in Pakistan has stagnated and no expansion is foreseen due to dwindling water resources. Soils in Pakistan are low in organic matter and many plant nutrients. In general, 90 percent of the soils are poor in organic matter, 80 percent low in phosphorous and 40 percent low in potassium. The deficiency of zinc and boron is widely reported at above 50 percent in field crops. Iron deficiency in deciduous fruits is also a common occurrence. Out of 80 million hectares of total agricultural area of Pakistan, about 22 million hectares are presently cultivated. There is also a pressure on land in peri-urban areas where agriculture land is being converted into real estate. Mina Dowlatchahi, FAO representative in Pakistan, suggested that lasting development could only be people and natural resources-centred and "we should promote sustainable indigenous but natural resources management practices across different production systems, and present cost-effective solutions, especially by the small landholders." In the meantime, FAO has launched the most comprehensive global map to date showing the amount of carbon stocks in the soil. The map shows that globally, the first 30cm of soil contains around 680 billion tons of carbon. This is a significant amount compared to the carbon stored in the whole vegetation. Degradation of one-third of the world's soil has already prompted an enormous release of carbon into the atmosphere.
We feel that the FAO's study on agriculture covers a large area pertaining mainly to the productivity of various crops and should be taken very seriously by the policymakers as agriculture sector is a vital component of Pakistan's economy, providing the raw materials to down the line industries and helping in poverty alleviation. The sector contributes about 20 percent of the GDP and remains by far the largest employer absorbing about 43 percent of the country's total labour force. However, performance of agriculture sector over the years is thought to be dependent mainly on greater availability of agriculture sector inputs like irrigation water, agriculture credit and intensive fertilisers off-take. The present study of the FAO is probably the first one which has gone beyond these usual parameters and looked at the totality of picture including those factors which were previously unheard of and not given much importance. The provincial governments and other stakeholders would argue about the water distribution and allocation of agriculture credit but would never mention that only about 25 percent of the cultivable area of the country is covered under various crops and it is a challenge to bring the rest of the area under cultivation due to various factors. It will also be a news to the majority of people in Pakistan that the soils in Pakistan are low in organic matter and many essential plant materials. The land is also suffering from deficiency in phosphorous, potassium, zinc, boron and iron which is adversely affecting the quantity and quality of various crops, including fruits. The study has also measured the excess of carbon in the air which is crucial to soil health, and fertility, water infiltration and retention as well as food production. Of course, steps should be taken to protect the carbon-rich soils to avoid emissions to the atmosphere. As the population of Pakistan is growing at 2.6 percent every year, it will be a challenge to grow more and more nutritious food per unit of land for food security and economic development. Ways have also to be found to export surplus production of crops which will not be possible without improving the quality of products because governments of most of the other countries have become very choosy about this. Overall, we find the FAO study very informative and useful and would request the government to take a serious note of the relevant observations. Funds would be needed to conduct a serious research on the subject and implement the necessary policy changes but it will be worth the effort.