EDITORIAL: Pakistan's economy is largely agriculture-based. Although this sector's direct contribution to the GDP is only 20 percent, as much as 60 percent of manufacturing value-added, and 50 percent of wholesale and retail trade is also agro-based. Yet, large sections of the population remain food insecure, a direct consequence of 70 years of policymaking indifference. While the policymaking focus on national level has been consumed by self-sufficiency in food crops, nutritional security is oft ignored. Nutrition indicators of the growing young population have been fast deteriorating as the number of malnourished is again on the rise. Nutrition deficiency is a long-term problem for which successive governments must shoulder blame.
Expectations, however, are much higher from the incumbent government. In his inaugural address to the nation, Prime Minister Imran Khan made a commitment to arrest malnourishment that leads to stunting and wasting among young kids. Thus, the PTI government must take the food security problem more seriously and look for solutions to both short- and long-term challenges. It must be remembered that the raison d'etre of a food security ministry at the federal level after the 18th amendment and devolution is to invest in research, development, and planning. Yet, when was the last time official policy notes considered whether Pakistani children are protein-secure or whether they are consuming good fats or bad? The reality is that policymakers have achieved little more than paying lip service to Millennium Development Goals for eradication of hunger and malnourishment.
The crisis of nutritional deficiency is primarily attributed to policy focus that is heavily skewed towards increasing farm output using conventional intervention tools such as subsidies for fertilizer and inputs, and support prices for cereals. Governments have relied on traditional methods of promoting crops by increasing land allocation and ensuring water availability. Rarely does any meaningful debate take place with respect to increasing productivity and quality of the output by investing in technology-led solutions. Similarly, little deliberation ever takes place to fulfil the macro- and micro-nutrient requirements of the population, as the policy discussion has failed to go beyond provision of meals twice a day. Even the 2017 National Food Security Policy fails to evaluate these aspects at a granular level. Many of these can be addressed by investing in seed technology and similar targeted interventions that promote fortified crop varieties.
Meanwhile, other countries of the world are closing in on nutritional security goals after defeating hunger and malnourishment over the last two decades. To combat Vitamin A deficiency - a leading cause of infant mortality and irreversible childhood blindness - countries have now begun to adopt genetically engineered crop varieties such as 'Golden Rice' that is fortified with genes required to address these chronic deficiencies. Thirty years ago, Pakistan also welcomed science-led solutions to nutritional deficiencies of its growing population. Many may recall the universal salt iodization programme launched in 1994 and implemented across the country. By 2001, Pakistan had reduced the incidence of iodine deficiency from 38 to 23 percent. In the following ten years, household iodine utilization increased from 17 to 69 percent, while incidence of iodine deficiency in children reduced to just 2 percent of the population.
There are various other micronutrients missing from an average Pakistani household diet. FAO statistics show that a one-third of children in Pakistan are under-weight, a symptom of caloric insufficiency and hunger. But more ominously, over two-fifths of children are stunted, which indicates insufficiency of various micronutrients and results in lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities. Many of these can be addressed at low cost. For example, iron and folic acids deficiencies can be overcome by fortifying wheat flour with these essential micronutrients. The harsh reality is that basic interventions such as wheat fortification remains a distant dream, as even in 2020 the country is still battling with wheat price stability.
Of course, that does not take away from the severity of the short- to medium term challenges that have further exacerbated food insecurity of the vulnerable. For example, over the past two years, an increase in agri-input prices due to currency depreciation has led to a rise in prices of cereals and basic food products, hurting most the poorest of the poor. Reportedly, Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its latest brief has noted that rising input prices have also adversely affected cash-based farm earnings. To add to the ado, farmers in Punjab did not even receive the subsidy announced earlier this year due to procedural issues. Moreover, locust attack is also straining farm incomes this year.
Increase in input prices coupled with falling returns to farmers is leading to a slow brewing challenge of food availability which may worsen over coming years. Over the past decade, growers have cut back on pesticide application in the face of rising costs, which has brought productivity to a standstill. For example, wheat is a staple commodity that faces little competition from other crops during winter plantation season, yet its national yield has come to a standstill over the last decade. Pakistan produces 2-3 tons per hectare on average, while other countries have unlocked yield of 8 tons per hectare. Because there is only finite land available for wheat cultivation, the output is no longer rising, even as the demand of a growing population continues to increase. Land is scarce and is running short in supply due to growing urbanization; but productivity is not. Focus must be placed on enhancing productivity of all crops.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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