Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Minfa) assured the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) that Pakistan would establish a food security programme for the needy. Kevin Gallagher, Representative of Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations while talking to Business Recorder revealed that Secretary Minfa, Junaid Chaudhry has chalked out a strategy to establish a 'Food Security Programme' focused on the most vulnerable districts in the country.
Gallagher commenting on the Food Security Programme stated that the WFP would provide support to the government to achieve the objective of the programme that includes assisting growers to increase production, reducing losses and constructing farm-to-market roads that would improve market access.
Gallagher maintained that the agriculture policy of the country is 'not wrong'. However, he said, "globally prices of agriculture products are very high which are a direct cause of high prices of inputs". Pakistan has Benazir Income Support Programme which is meant to provide a social net for the poor during hard times, he stated adding that even in the USA, about 10 of the population receive food stamps.
"In general, Pakistan is envied by many countries-you export rice, wheat, cotton, fruit and vegetables at a national level bringing in much needed foreign exchange. It is a dynamic sector but there is still a room for modernisation," Gallagher said.
He maintained that flood affected people in Pakistan are in deeper debt than before due to their need to borrow to repair houses, purchase agriculture inputs, replace animals, buy fodder. Most people lost their stored foods in the floods so they will need to be buying food at this stage, he said. Several people who were not affected by floods nonetheless were indirectly affected as they provided food and shelter to their unfortunate brethren resulting in low food stocks.
"At present, wheat is not being harvested, but international prices are very high due to fuel prices, Russian fires, Australian floods, commodity etc", he observed. Gallagher disclosed, "Pakistan is not living in isolation from international prices so we see the impact of global prices even in villages. It must be very difficult time with stocks very low in households, high global food and fuel prices and crops not ready to harvest".
Feudalism, he maintained, may result in lack on investment by the poor in their land and water assets although we don't know the total number of people in this situation.
On the whole, he said that Pakistan has other issues such as poor food diversity in diets (eg not enough fruits and vegetables), high unemployment and stagnant industrial growth due to security issues and global economic recession, untrained youth, etc. The list is long, he stated ominously. "The New Growth Strategy (Planning Commission) is attempting to address employment. In Europe, USA, Japan, Korea, China, etc the farming sector provides massive subsidies to ensure that producers have a minimum income-something that Pakistan cannot afford yet", he added.
When Business Recorder contacted a senior official of Minfa, he replied on condition of anonymity, "If someone says that the agriculture policy is not up to the mark, he should substantiate his claims. Our present agriculture policy made it possible for Pakistan to be surplus in grain production.
Now we have 8 million tons of surplus grains. True that the grain storage capacity of Pakistan is not up to the mark but the private sector, especially the flour mills, have been allowed by the government to purchase wheat from the growers at the fixed support price of Rs 950/40kg".