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Introduction
Pakistan, a low-income developing country, prioritizes agriculture as the most important component ensuring the provision of healthy food to a fast-growing population. Despite the considerable efforts, there is a significant gap between domestic food production and population growth, which affects significantly food security in the country (Keinzler 1985). Because of insufficient distribution of water resources, the sector of domestic food production suffers from incredible costs that are necessary for soil sanitation and cultivation. In this respect, Pakistan needs to deepen its understanding of the scales of the food insecurity problem, highlight future problems, and define agricultural policies and food security programs that could reduce the vulnerability of rural and urban areas in front of natural rudiments. Moreover, the focus should also be made on pathways to enhance nutritional security, which is an important factor for supplying the growing population in the country. In addition, assessment of existing programs and policies in Pakistan is also necessary to highlight which improvement has been introduced to the food security issues.
Geographic Effect on Food and Nutrient Security Policies in Pakistan
The geographic location and environmental situation in Pakistan play an important role in promoting security of the agricultural sector. This is of particular concern to such natural disasters as flooding and climate change. Therefore, geography of the country makes it more vulnerable to climatic conditions because food production depends largely on the groundwater resources. Flooding also creates serious challenges for government to regulate agricultural production in Pakistan. Nearly 20 million Pakistanis suffered from natural disasters leading to a humanitarian crisis (Kronstadt et al. 2010). Flooding has spread along the Indus River Basin that stretches from north to south of the country. Extreme deficiency of clean drinking water has been the urgent problem in Pakistan because it contributes to the outbreak of such infectious diseases as diarrhea and cholera (Kronstadt et al. 2010). As a result of natural disasters and unfavorable geographic conditions, the country faces challenges in its attempts to ensure food insecurity and stability of agricultural sectors.
Food Security Definition
Before proceeding with trends, dynamics, and causes of food insecurity in Pakistan, definition of food security should be highlighted. In this respect, Ahmad and Farooq (2010) define the term as “peoples’ right to define their own policies and strategies for the sustainable production, distribution and consumption of food that guarantees the right to food for the entire population…respecting their own cultures and the diversity…” (p. 3). Such a condition is not affordable for the majority of the developing economies. In this respect, global food security institutions focus generally on the aspect of sufficient food supply availability (Ahmad and Farooq 2010). Wide access and availability are two essential components of food security. Thus, availability concerns sufficient amounts of food for the country’s population. It can be either imported or produced domestically. The capacity to manufacture and acquire nutritious food refers to the accessibility of food. Consistent availability of sufficient food in the market ensures its access (Ahmad and Farooq 2010). Although the food can be available in the market, there is no guarantee that all individuals are eligible to receive access to it. Therefore, accessibility implies both economic and physical access, in which the latter requires the presence of effective market infrastructure. The analysis of the presented concepts of availability and access explains the direct connection between food insecurity and poverty.
Food security closely relates to the stability of the country’s economy. Stability implies successful management of domestic sector and food market. Because Pakistan confronted severe floods in the 1970s, 1990s, and 2010, insufficient management of foodgrains production was the logical outcome of policies in the country (Ur Rehman 2009). To solve the problem of food scarcity in urban areas, the government of Pakistan had to promote the policies of support prices. Under these circumstances, market infrastructure plays a tangible role in settling the problem. The above-presented discussion of different dimensions and aspects of food security highlights the importance of considering complex, multi-dimensional strategies and policies to be implemented to improve the situation of food stability in Pakistan.
Trends in Agriculture and Food Production
As it has been mentioned previously, agriculture plays a significant role in Pakistani economy because the welfare of the population depends largely on sufficient resources and equipment ensuring agricultural development. Because the population surpassed the mark of 145 million, the agriculture sphere should introduce radical strategy to meet the needs of Pakistan. It is, therefore, crucial for farmers to learn to use technology effectively. As Syed (2011) reports, “the overall agricultural GDP growth rate in Pakistan was below the potential in the past several years” (p. 20). The low rate is explained by certain provisional factors, including climate conditions. However, technology integration in Pakistan has been slow due to a number of reasons. In particular, technological problems are explained by insufficient financing of the research and development department, which could lead to high production rates and maintenance of agricultural education and physical infrastructure (US AID 2009). The situation is aggravated by the degradation and the prevalence of the public sector in controlling prices and agricultural trade. To improve the situation, it is necessary to enforce a policy on minimum farm size premised on cadastral maps and electronic systems that are available for farmers to use.
Recently, various agricultural projects have been initiated in Pakistan to improve the situation with food insecurity issues. The programs include “development of irrigation, roads, market infrastructure, and investment in agricultural research and extension” (Ahmad 2010, p. 13). More importantly, the government initiated a Special Program for Food Security (SPFS) which seeks to ensure the access and adequacy to food supply and sustain the prosperity of agricultural production with a special emphasis placed on profitability and productivity of such food crops as wheat, oilseeds, and rice maize (Ahmad 2010). Initially introduced as Crop Maximization Program was developed to the reform of governmental level.
Economy, Education, and Social Condition
Confronting significant challenges at the beginning of its economic development has not prevented Pakistan from making a transition from producing agricultural raw products to a semi-industrialized economy. Agriculture, therefore, has long been considered the main economic sector because almost all stages of growth relate to the high productivity of agriculture due to timely interventions and relevant climatic conditions (Kakakhel 2012). Nevertheless, Pakistan has failed to develop a natural strategy that could contribute to food security issues and, therefore, the relevance of water resources distribution is extremely high. Other inconsistencies in the economic sector involve failure to restrain the population growth, human and physical capital, inability to regulate tax revenues and internal savings, as well as failure to monitor key industrial sectors that promote private sectors. As a result, the economy cannot ensure sufficient progress in exports, which causes great losses and deteriorates governmental policies.
As per the social dimension and its influence on food security, Pakistan faces serious problems achieving the required goals. This is of particular concern to considering internal and external processes of social development, including “socio-political turmoil, militancy, military operations, natural disasters, especially the Great Flood in 2010, the impacts of the sharp increases in the prices on food and oil and the global economic recession” (Kakakhel 2012, p. 3). Apart from environmental and economic issues, Pakistan introduces progressive programs on fighting against other serious diseases of the twenty-first century, including HIV/AIDS and malaria. Educational sphere serves as a necessary condition for enhancing knowledge of farmers integrating innovation and technological advances. Therefore, specific training programs should be worked out. In particular, the National Educational Policy 2009 has also introduced programs and policies to address the problems of education, “such as improvement in the quality of education generally that imparted by public sector educational centers” (Kakakhel 2012, p. 45). All these approaches can promote search and development in higher educational institutions.
In order to address the challenges of food insecurity, the Pakistan government pays closer attention to social protection schemes which include both social security and safety nets programs. The total spending on safety nets includes “cash transfers, social welfare services, human capital accumulation, and wheat subsidies” whereas social security regulates spending on “civil services pensions, and private sector sponsored welfare fund and cost of employees social security institutions” (Ahmad 2010, p. 11). In addition, social protection is subdivided into broader groups covering labor market policies, social welfare programs, social insurance reforms, child protection strategies, and community-based schemes.
Population and Cultural Factors
The main concern of the Pakistani government should involve the development of effective training and educational programs for the population inhabiting rural areas of the country in which culture and tradition prevail over technological advancement (Zia and Gadi 2001). In particular, Zia and Gadi (2001) propose to introduce program thrust to reach the needs of marginalized communities that have low training requirements to sustain normal living conditions. Such program is especially important for small farmers, women, and unemployed youth. According to Khan (2009), “culture is connected to food security through the individual’s assets to formal education and other forms of human capital” (p. 4). If social network is poorly organized, food insecurity issues can be worsened because human capital and education become ineffective to meet productivity and distribution.
Politics and Regulations
The Pakistani government should work hard on the development and enhancement of agricultural sector. To handle the issue, specific strategic options have been introduced. First, the government has promoted sustainable and efficient agricultural growth to increase revenues of small farmers, as well as develop growth linkages in rural economy (Arif n. d.). The authorities also think over programs that could increase livestock production, particularly the production of milk and dairy cattle in, the Sindh and Punjab regions. Second, creating a favorable environment for the rural non-farm sector can enhance income and increase employment rates. Public service contributions to health and education can also be improved because it serves as a foundation for economic growth (Arif n. d.). Third, efficient governance of rural establishments through decentralized control and strengthening of local authorities regulations promotes accountability. The point is that much confusion still arises concerning the responsibilities imposed on various governmental levels (Shahid & Siddiqi 2010). In this respect, strict allocation of roles is an important solution to be provided to improve food security in Pakistan. Finally, protection and empowerment of the poor, as well as the most vulnerable social spheres can foster access to income-generating and poverty-reducing activities.
Today, the Green Revolution in Pakistan has been considered a breakthrough in the economic and agricultural spheres. Increased performance and high investment rates have contributed to the development of this sector. Despite continuous progress, the agricultural prosperity depends largely on weather conditions (Shahid & Siddiqi 2010). Hussain and Akram (2008) emphasize the importance of government involvement in agricultural issues because it is the primary stakeholder that establishes the price on corps and introduces other reforms (Hussain and Akram 2008). In particular, Pakistan Agriculture and Supply Corporation is an organization that works for storage, procurement and distribution of main food items (Hussain and Akram 2008). Despite the strong concern of the government with food insecurity issues, some of the implemented policies failed in an attempt to improve the situation (The UN Inter-Agency Assessment Mission 2008). To change the situation for the better, the “Government of Pakistan is now shifting its attention towards facilitating trade marketing and trying to meet WTO challenges” (Hussain and Akram 2008, p. 831). Moreover, the main reason for failure of most of the governmental policies lies in a considerable gap between policy formation and its actual implementation.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Despite intensified focus on agricultural reforms in Pakistan, the country still experiences significant food deficiency and insecurity (Suleri and Haq 2009). Water supply is among the most serious problems contributing to nutrition shortage in the country. According to Ur Rehman (2009), “there has been no increase in the water supply during the whole decade and the area watered through irrigation system rather declined from 7.31 million hectares in 1997-98 to 6.36 million hectares in 2007” (p. 238). Failure to settle efficient irrigation systems, as well as to cultivate wasteland, leads to low performance and productivity of the agricultural sector.
Significant gap between food supply and population growth threatens nutrition deficiency in Pakistan. To enlarge on the issue, Butt et al. (2007) have presented the research on the analysis of Vitamin A deficiencies, as well as the consequences of nutrition problems in Pakistan and other developing countries (Butt et al. 2007). The scholars have also defined “an apparent deficiency in vitamin A in Pakistani diet, especially among the pregnant and lactating women and children of low-income groups” (Butt et al. 2007, p. 286). To fill in the gap, numerous profit and not-for-profit organizations have actively been participating in enhancing food availability and producing healthy products for the Pakistani people. For instance, the National Foods Limits, a leading producer of food has been producing pure food since 1970 (TBL 2012). In particular, in response to the scarcity of iodine, the company has introduced iodized salt. More importantly, National Foods Limited has been working with other associations in order to provide further improvement in the field.
Consumptions and Food Availability
Because Pakistan is a low-income developing country, although, with high potential, its consumption patterns are strongly associated with the poverty line conditions. In other words, the calorie intake meets the level of economic and social welfare of people (Palwasha et al. 2011). The development of efficient consumption patterns has been accomplished with regard to global standards. In order to introduce such methods, the government should pay closer attention to presenting the strategies that would increase food availability patterns in Pakistan (Zulfiqar and Chishti 2010). The availability of food programs has been significantly enhanced with the introduction of the World Food Program in Pakistan (WFP n. d.) The food produced locally is called ‘Acha Mum’ and ‘Waw Mum’ is applied on the basis of the community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) program.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Analysis of pitfalls, along with the policies implemented by the Pakistani government, has provided a clearer picture of strategies and approaches that have improved the situation of food insecurity. In particular, the gap between food availability and population growth should be eliminated. The former depends largely on climatic, social, and economic conditions. In particular, the government strives to regulate effectively water resources and irrigation systems to meet the consumption rates in the country. Social conditions also put the agriculture sector under the threat because of a lack of training programs in the country, particularly in rural areas. Therefore, the government seeks pathways to implement effective training programs for the farmer to integrate technology into food production. As per economic conditions, specific attention has been paid to the analysis of the market system revealing the problem of inconsistent supply and demand policies. Finally, consumption patterns and food nutrition policies have been implemented, along with a Green Revolution in Pakistan. Today, the country experiences difficulties in managing the problem, but the implemented policies have considerably improved the situation.
Reference List
Ahmad, M and Farooq, U 2010, ‘The State of Food Security in Pakistan: Future Challenges and Coping Strategies’, AGM and Conference of PSDE, pp. 1-27.
Arif, M n. d., Agriculture and Food Security in Pakistan, Web.
Butt, M, Tahir-Nadeem, M, & Shahid, M 2007, ‘Vitamin A: Deficiency and Food-Based Combating Strategies in Pakistan and Other Developing Countries’, Food Reviews International, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 281-302.
Hussain, Z, & Akram, W 2008, ‘Persistent Food Insecurity from Policy Failures in Pakistan’, Pakistan Development Review, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 817-834.
Kakakhel, S 2012, Stocking Report on Sustainable Development in Pakistan, UNDESA. Pakistan, Web.
Keinzler, M 1985, Linking Climate Change with Food Security in the Highlands of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northwest Pakistan, Ph.D, University of Wurzburg.
Khan, REA 2009,Determinants of Food Security in Rural Areas of Pakistan, Sarhard University of Science and Technology, pp. 1-21, Web.
Kronstadt, KA, Sheikh, PA, & Vaughn, B 2010, ‘Flooding in Pakistan: Overview and Issues for Congress’, CRS Report for Congress, pp. 1-33.
Palwasha, Ali, S, Khan, M, Andaleeb, N, & Khan, I 2011, ‘Food Consumption Pattern And Determination Of Poverty Line In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan’, Interdisciplinary Journal Of Contemporary Research In Business, vol. 3, no. 7, pp. 212-226.
Shahid, A, & Siddiqi, M 2010, ‘Food Security Analysis of Pakistan: Time Series Approach’, Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, vol. 2, no. 7, pp. 288-307.
Suleri, AQ, and Haq, S 2009, Food Insecurity in Pakistan, Sustainable Development, Policy Institute, pp. 1-129.
Syed, B 2011, ‘Food And Agriculture Sector In Pakistan’, Economic Review (05318955), vol. 42, no. 1, p. 20.
TBL 2012, Malnutrition in Pakistan: the Hidden Hunger, Web.
The UN Inter Agency Assessment Mission 2008, High Food Prices in Pakistan: Impact Assessment and the Way Forward, pp. 1-104, viewed September 19, 2012.
Ur Rehman, H 2009, ‘Food Scarcity in Pakistan Causes, Dynamics and Remedies’, Journal Of Managerial Sciences, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 236-247.
US AID 2009, Pakistan’s Food and Agriculture Systems, United States for International Development, Web.
WFP 2012, Pakistan: Malnutrition Levels Increase as a Result of Disasters, Web.
Zia, S and Gadi, M 2001, Linking Food Security and Culture in Pakistan, Development, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 73-78.
Zulfiqar, M, & Chishti, A 2010, ‘Development of Supply and Demand Functions of Pakistan’s Wheat Crop’, Lahore Journal of Economics, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 91-102.
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