Transforming agriculture development model

A report released the other day by the UN Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) challenges conventional agricultural production and corporate concentration in agriculture markets, calling for transformative changes. According to the report entitled "Trade and Environmental Review 2013: Wake Up Before it is Too Late", there is a need to transform agriculture towards "ecological intensification" which "implies a rapid and significant shift from conventional, monoculture-based and high-external-input-dependent industrial production toward mosaics of sustainable, regenerative production systems that also considerably improve the productivity of small-scale farmers."
The report makes a compelling argument for increasing productivity while preserving the ecological balance by relying on natural processes such as organic farming, better integration between crop and livestock production, forest and grassland management, reduction of waste throughout food chains, etc. This is an important wakeup call, especially for an agriculture-based economy like Pakistan's which is already beginning to feel the disruptive effects of global warming. While integrated crop and livestock production is fast becoming a thing of the past, preserving grasslands gets little attention. Even green belts around big cities that used to provide vegetables, fruit, even grains to urban populations have disappeared to make way for influential real estate developers' schemes. The only advice the agriculture policymakers seem to have for the farmers is to make excessive use of inorganic fertilisers as well as pesticides and herbicides without a concern for the harmful impact of most such chemicals on human health as well as soil.
Indeed, per acre yield here is still among the lowest in the world. But as the present report points out, optimal results can be achieved through better use of both organic and inorganic fertilisers, closed nutrient cycles, and reduction of crop waste. Post-harvest losses in this country, particularly for vegetable and fruits, are as high as 25-40 percent. The reason is the small-scale farmers' lack of resources to store and efficiently transport their produce although they make the best use of the land. They can substantially enhance productivity if helped with crop insurance and Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) loans that so far have been going to big landowners who seldom return them. As it is, future food security is a subject of growing international concern. Considering that Pakistan itself experienced food shortages during the recent years, making necessary alterations in the present agricultural practices and processes must get policymakers' attention. Change must come in the form of a well blended agri-ecological plan for a safe and secure future. Equally important, agriculture being the mainstay of this economy, Pakistan should also play a proactive role in the international movement that seeks to transform the model of agriculture trade agreements that favour multinational corporations at the expense of small countries' farming communities.