There is 52.9 percent rural poverty in cotton/wheat growing areas of Punjab, while in Sindh it is 53.4 percent, where possibility to diversify income in order to manage risk is limited, according to a study made available to Business Recorder here on Tuesday. According to the study on incidence of poverty across agro-climatic zones, there is 36.9 percent poverty in the rice/wheat growing districts of Punjab; 45.9 percent in mixed Punjab; 50.7 percent in low intensity Punjab; 24.3 percent in barani Punjab. There is 50.6 percent poverty in rice/other crops growing areas of Sindh; 44.6 percent in NWFP; and 36.6 percent in Balochistan.
A survey conducted by Dr Sohail J. Malik of Innovative Development Strategies in his research paper: "What are the strategic issues in poverty reduction through agriculture", says that the highest incidence of poverty is in the zones that rely most on crop income.
In the two poorest zones, crop income accounts for 67.3 percent and 64.26 percent of total income in cotton/wheat growing districts of Sindh and Punjab, respectively.
Elaborating sources of income and rural poverty, the study says that due to unequal distribution of land, increase in crop income serves to exacerbate overall income inequity.
Within crop income, the poor rely mainly on food crops such as wheat; the well off have more diversified crop production with greater proportion of cash crops.
In overall rural Pakistan, crop income accounts for only about 50 percent of total income. Wages and salaries are significant sources accounting for nearly 36 percent of rural income while transfer incomes are also important sources.
The incidence of poverty is low in zones where percentage of income from wages and salaries and transfer incomes is high.
The study listed (a) population explosion; (b) low agriculture growth in the 90s than official estimates; (c) highly variable crop income (especially from cotton): it takes the poor households several years to recover from an income shock; (d) consistent rise in the real consumer price of major staples since mid-90s; (e) decline in real wages; and (f) highly skewed distribution of land as causes of rural poverty in Pakistan.
According to the study, three most crucial constraints to leveraging agriculture for poverty reduction in Pakistan are land, water and disconnection between policy and implementation.
By 2015, water requirements will outstrip availability in addition to low productivity of water, non-reliability of water services and under investment in research and technology development.
The study recommended several strategic interventions which called for abolition of restrictions on the import and export of all agricultural commodities including wheat, improvement in rural infrastructure and education provision and agriculture extension specially capacity building of small farmers for crop maximisation.
The study also recommended a policy regime to remove market imperfections, increase productivity, farmers profitability, corporate farming, scaling up of diversification into new, high-value crops, use of new and more efficient irrigation and focus on livestock and diary.
The study highlighted the problem of obsolete system of land records; titling and transfer of landed property and suggested immediate and far-reaching judicial reforms in the board of revenues without which rural investment climate cannot be created for development of farm and non-farm sectors.
Another study done by a former food and agriculture secretary, Dr Zafar Altaf, says that 93 percent of small farmers' holdings are less than 12-1/2 acres, and of these 60 percent farmers possess less than three acres of land.
He warned that unless far-reaching reforms are undertaken with regard to distribution of land, diversification of crops, modernisation of irrigation system, adequate investment, capacity building of farmers, research and technology transfer, etc, our agriculture sector will never pick up, which provides livelihood to 75 percent population and 25 percent to the national income.
Another study by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, on trade policies and food security says that if rich countries liberate agriculture trade and eliminate their subsidies, there would be an additional 40 billion dollars market available to the developing countries for agriculture trade, which will help them raise their gross domestic product (GDP) by 15 billion dollars and alleviate rural poverty.
According to the study, globalisation could benefit developing countries. But unlike rising tide that lifts all boats, large and small, globalisation is unequal.
It has fallen far short of its much-ballyhooed potential to help the world's poorest people come out of poverty.
Instead, a combination of policies in both rich and poor countries creates conditions for the rich to prosper and many of the poor to fall more deeply into destitution.
The study says that agricultural protectionism in rich countries enables them to skew markets in their favour. Tariffs and trade barriers routinely exclude developed countries' products. Other non-tariff barriers such as non-transparent phyto-sanitary regulations present additional impediments to poor farmers seeking to enter the global marketplace.
Instead of distorting the market place, rich countries must pay more than lip service to the ideal of free and fair trade. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the arena to do so internationally.
According to the study, public policies in developed countries also harm poor farmers and producers, who often lack basic conditions for prosperity, health, education, land, capital, information and marketing infrastructure needed to take advantage of export opportunities.
Developed countries' governments can and must change domestic policies on markets, land tenure, research and credit extension to enable small holding farmers to compete.
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