Out of total 120 districts in Pakistan, 74 are deficient in food, while 80 percent of the rural population is 'food-insecure', says a study.
The per capita availability of main staple food--wheat--which accounts for 53 percent of caloric intake, also showed a decline from 130.85 kg to 116.31 kg while the per day caloric level also went down the recommended allowance of 2550 cal/day, says a report submitted to the UN Committee on Food Security in Rome, compiled by an NGO.
Besides Pakistan's commitment to meet most of the Millennium Development Goals, the constitution of the country also guarantees provision of food as fundamental right of the citizens, the report said.
Food availability, economic access to food, and effective biological utilisation are three main factors for food security, which the government has failed to provide at macro-level.
It said that the prevailing malnutrition, which is high in mothers and children, is a serious concern, and no significant improvement has been made in last 15 years. The main causes of malnutrition are inadequate food intake and poor health status that are influenced by poverty and lack of access to food, feeding practices and large size of family.
The report said that low productivity in agriculture, inadequate water control, scarcity of off-farm employment and inadequate and uncertain incomes in both rural and urban areas are the main reasons of chronic under-nutrition.
Government's drive to increase its exports has resulted in more cultivation of cotton, giving less attention to food crops. Similarly, inefficient usage of inputs, untimely availability of irrigation water and credit, non-supportive pricing policies and non-equitable distribution of land are also adding to less yield of staple food.
Inflation, increased debt and debt servicing, reduction in annual development expenditure and land distribution are also some of the chief factors, which are also contributing to malnutrition.
The report has recommended some efforts to eliminate hunger, which include privatisation of public sector enterprises, phasing out of producer subsidies and reduction in projectionist policies.