Food Security Policy for Pakistan

7 min readSep 1, 2022

Introduction

improving the quality of life of its citizens has remained the prime duty of any state and it is still the case. It is a comprehensive concept having social, economic, and political dimensions. In its economic dimension, it entails the convenient availability of quality economic goods and services at affordable prices to all segments of society i.e. food, shelter, clothing, education, health, etc. Thus, the first and the most vital component of quality of life is food security — sufficient availability of quality food and easy and affordable access to maximum numbers of people.

However, during the last decade or so two other components have been added to the concept to give it a holistic meaning. These are known as food absorption and food stability. In other words, now food security not only means the availability and access of food to the people, but this food should be nutritionally balanced and hygienically processed by the people who are healthy enough to absorb it. Secondly, all the above three components are stable over a long period with precautions taken beforehand to meet any emergency which could adversely affect food security.

Consequently, to address all the above four issues, the Food, and Agricultural Organisation has formulated the following universally accepted definition

“Food security exists when all people, at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritional food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”.

Keeping in view the comprehensive nature of the food security issue of a country and the number of ministries and agencies involved, policy to adequately tackle food security is invariably formulated and implemented by an agency that is at least a notch above the ministerial level. In fact, in some countries, it is the office of the Prime Minister with the Prime Minister as directly responsible or his/her senior Minister in charge, which oversees the food security policy of the country.

In the majority of countries, the food security policy is with the Minister’s planning and development of the country. No doubt, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture plays a dominant role in its formulation and implementation, other miniseries are given equal importance in this respect. This important principle has been neglected in the new Food Security Policy with profound consequences.

For example, even though 45% of Pakistan’s population is food insecure, the Federal Ministry of National Food Security and Research always insists that the issue of food insecurity has been exaggerated. This viewpoint is correct if we equate food security with the availability of food grains in the country-the first component of food security. Sufficient availability of food grains, the focus of its predecessor MINFA, still retains its primacy for them.

Now read the Food Security Policy and see how this preoccupation with the production of food grains has overshadowed other vital components of the food security mentioned above. It is the mindset of the officers of the Ministry and the agricultural specialists working in various research institutions under their control that is reflected in the document. They failed to comprehend the enormity of the issue and view food security as a multi-sectoral phenomenon, a challenge beyond sectoral mandates.

No doubt, the food security situation in Pakistan is satisfactory in terms of the first requirement i.e. food availability, the same cannot be said about the other three. Although Pakistan is the world’s eighth-largest producer of wheat and the fourth-largest producer of milk, yet according to the latest Global Hunger Index, more than 5th of its population is undernourished. Similarly, 45 per cent of our children underfive exhibits stunted growth, placing the hunger situation at a “serious” level.

There are several reasons for this unsatisfactory state of affairs; the most important reason being the inadequate financial access of a significant segment of its population to food, particularly those living below the poverty line irrespective of the criterion we choose to define them.

Similarly, there have been disruptions in the availability of food grains in areas hit by terrorism or floods. The non-farming sector in the rural areas, the urban poor, the internally displaced persons (IDPs), and those living in areas where terrorist activities are going on are extremely vulnerable to shortages of necessities of life including food. Lastly, the overall health profile of the population, particularly those living in rural areas leaves much to be improved to meet the criterion of satisfactory food absorption and calorie intake.

A few suggestions.

Firstly, as food security involves several ministries, organizations as well as provincial governments, where the turf war is endemic, the creation of a broad-based commission at the highest level, preferably at the prime minister level on the pattern of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for better coordination and extracting cooperation from them would go a long way in ensuring food security. If not possible, then it must be located in the Planning Commission because food security policy can be conveniently dovetailed with its growth policy as its integral part and not just an adjunct.

One of the first tasks of the Commission, in which a leading role will have to be played by the Ministry of Food Security and Agricultural Research, should be to update the food insecurity profile of the country to have the exact magnitude and geographical and sectional spread of the food-insecure people and regions.

Fortunately, Pakistan is self-sufficient in the production of food grains but there is a significant food gap in terms of consumption between relatively developed regions and those lagging. Then there is always a danger of certain areas falling victim to chronic or transitory food insecurity due to terrorist activities in some areas. These activities may force the majority of its inhabitants to become IDPs, leaving their lands to remain uncultivated for an extended period.

Secondly, we must add a new article to the Constitution of Pakistan to make the ‘Right to Food’ a fundamental right of every citizen within a reasonable time frame. This needs to be implemented by any party which comes into power. The government at the centre should formulate a comprehensive food security policy in consultation with all the provinces. However, its implementation should rest with the provinces and should be assisted by the Federal government to enhance the capacity of their respective agricultural departments as well as of their district governments

Thirdly, food security is now invariably linked with poverty reduction strategies of developing countries because of its complex but a crucial two-way relationship. That is why the very first Millennium Development Goal dealing with the reduction of poverty laid special emphasis on the eradication of hunger from the member countries. The same importance has been given to this issue in the Sustainable Development Goals for obvious reasons.

Endemic and persistent poverty reduces the productivity of the people, which, in turn, perpetuates poverty, thus creating a vicious cycle. This vicious cycle can be broken by increasing agricultural production through sustainable practices by increasing the efficiency of agricultural operations by adopting good agricultural practices. These in nutshell are greater mechanization of agricultural operations, appropriate application of inputs, reducing production and post-production losses, timely processing of the product, and ensuring fair returns to the farmers through contract and cooperative farming.

Fourthly, we must be cognizant of the fact that the economic profile of the country is rapidly changing with the emergence of a prosperous middle class leading to greater urbanization. With changing social and economic profile of the country, the food habits of the people are also changing. As has happened in China, Brazil, and other developing countries, the growing prosperity of certain classes results in the conversion of food grains to produce meat for the rich, creating shortages of food for the poor. Although not an imminent threat, a futuristic plan must make a provision for this aspect.

Fifthly, we must resist the efforts of those who advocate strengthening fuel security by increasing the production of crops suitable for biofuel. In a country where food security is an issue, it is not a realistic and cost-effective strategy. It is feasible only in those countries where there is an abundant supply of land and water. Even the so-called marginal lands cannot be spared as they provide food for the animals. Even otherwise, the Ministry for Food Security and Agricultural Development and the ministry must keep in mind that fuel security is not its mandate. Let the ministry of petroleum handle this issue.

Lastly, we should take environmental degradation and the looming threat of climate change, which may make some already vulnerable regions to chronic food insecurity, very seriously. Unfortunately, the massive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides coupled with the pumping out of brackish subsoil water through tube wells has now resulted in the loss of soil fertility at alarming rates.

Whether it was ignorance, incompetence, or lack of resources, the disastrous consequences of short-sighted policies are now wreaking havoc on the life and livelihoods of the people engaged in agriculture. There is thus an urgent need to take adaptive and mitigating measures to not only stop environmental degradation but also to reverse the trend. Creating awareness among the farmers about climate change/environmental degradation and popularizing sustainable agricultural practices among them should be the priority of the state

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Food Security Policy for Pakistan

Written by Shahid H. Raja

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