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AGRICULTURE AND FOOD

SECURITY IN PAKISTAN
Amjad Ali

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 THEMATIC PAPER

AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY

IN PAKISTAN

By: MAZHAR ARIF

Page 1 of 26
Hunger is exclusion – exclusion from the land, from income, jobs, wages, life and
citizenship. When a person gets to the point of not having anything to eat, it is because
all the rest has been denied. This is a modern form of exile. It is death in life…

Josue de Castro

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 C O N T E N T S

1 - Introduction

1.1 What is food security?

1.2 Official definition

1.3 Why food insecurity?

1.4 Right to food

1.5 Components of food security

2 - Agriculture and Food Security

2.1 Agriculture in Pakistan

2.2 Rural people remain poor

2.3 Who are the Rural Poor?

2.4 Agricultural growth is not enough

3– Food Poverty

4 - Food insecurity in rural Pakistan

5 – Strategic options

6 – Supporting requirements

7 - References

Page 3 of 26
1 - Introduction

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has approved the export of an additional 500,000 tons of
wheat this year in the hope of making inroads into the lucrative Indian market. The export
will be undertaken by the private sector by sea and by railways. A bumper harvest of 23
million tons is expected this 2006-07 crop year. Last year, the country also had a bumper
crop of 21.7 million tons of wheat. (1) The surplus harvest of wheat, however, does not
guarantee food security in the country.

One citizen of Pakistan, Mr. Maqbool, comments that first we will export, and then we
will import ‘Pakistani wheat’ at much higher rates during the time of crises from these
neighbouring countries. Another informed citizen, Salman Ali, says there have been
serious irregularities in the past in wheat export and then import. The traders mafia (that
includes ministers, influential parliamentarians and the private traders plus few
industrialists) in our country is very strong and the common consumer suffers the net
impact of such malpractices. Government takes decisions in the name of consumers but
in actual effect, these are the traders who benefit from exports/ imports and not the
consumers.

The profiteering tendency of the global food producers and distributors even at the cost of
people’s survival is bound to create social and political upheavals. This is a harsh reality
which the business people and policy makers have chosen to ignore so far. (2)

Food insecurity amidst plenty is the name of the game in food politics. Despite the fact
that global economy is a food surplus economy, 852 million people (17 % of the world
population) go hungry every day in the world because they do not have access to food.
The chronic hunger kills more people every day than disasters, disease or war. But, all
this is when there is enough food to feed the entire population of the world twice. Women
in rural areas go hungry the most despite doing the bulk of the work to grow food and
feed their families. Women produce up to 80 per cent of the food in developing countries,
but they own only one per cent of the land. (3)

The continuation of hunger is directly related to a lack of access or entitlement to food,

and to the natural resources essential to the provision of food. Food sovereignty is the
right of people to define their own food and agriculture, and to protect and regulate
domestic agricultural production and trade. Access and entitlement to food are affected
by North-South global divide, particular national policies, gender, class, ethnicity, and
rural-urban divide.

1.1 What is food security?

Food security as a concept originated only in the mid-1970s, in the discussions of

international food problems at a time of global food crisis. The initial focus of attention
was primarily on food supply problems - of assuring the availability and to some degree
the price stability of basic foodstuffs at the international and national level. That supply-
side, international and institutional set of concerns reflected the changing organization of

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the global food economy that had precipitated the crisis. A process of international
negotiation followed, leading to the World Food Conference of 1974, and a new set of
institutional arrangements covering information, resources for promoting food security
and forums for dialogue on policy issues. (4)

The issues of famine, hunger and food crisis were also being extensively examined,
following the events of the mid 1970s. The outcome was a redefinition of food security,
which recognized that the behaviour of potentially vulnerable and affected people was a
critical aspect.

A third, perhaps crucially important, factor in modifying views of food security was the
evidence that the technical successes of the Green Revolution did not automatically and
rapidly lead to dramatic reductions in poverty and levels of malnutrition.

1.2 Official definitions

The initial focus, reflecting the global concerns of 1974, was on the volume and stability
of food supplies. Food security was defined in the 1974 World Food Summit as:

“Availability at all times of adequate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a
steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and
prices”.

In 1983, FAO expanded its concept to include securing access by vulnerable people to
available supplies, implying that attention should be balanced between the demand and
supply side of the food security equation:

“Ensuring that all people at all times have both physical and economic access to the basic
food that they need”.

In 1986, the World Bank report, Poverty and Hunger, focused on the temporal dynamics
of food insecurity. It introduced the widely accepted distinction between chronic food
insecurity, associated with problems of continuing or structural poverty and low incomes,
and transitory food insecurity, which involved periods of intensified pressure caused by
natural disasters, economic collapse or conflict. This concept of food security is further
elaborated in terms of:

“Access of all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life”.

By the mid-1990s food security was recognized as a significant concern, spanning a

spectrum from the individual to the global level. However, access now involved
sufficient food, indicating continuing concern with protein-energy malnutrition. But the
definition was broadened to incorporate food safety and also nutritional balance,
reflecting concerns about food composition and minor nutrient requirements for an active
and healthy life. Food preferences, socially or culturally determined, now became a
consideration.

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The 1996 World Food Summit adopted a still more complex definition:

“Food security, at the individual, household, national, regional and global levels [is
achieved] when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient,
safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and
healthy life”. (5)

This definition is again refined in The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2001:

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

Essentially, food security can be described as a phenomenon relating to individuals. It is

the nutritional status of the individual household member that is the ultimate focus.

So, Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic
access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and healthy life. Household food security is the application of
this concept to the family level, with individuals within households as the focus of
concern, and Food insecurity exists when people do not have adequate physical, social
or economic access to food as defined above.

The amount and quality of food available globally, nationally and locally can be affected
temporarily or long-term by many factors including climate, disasters, war, civil unrest,
population size and growth, agricultural practices, environment, social status and trade.

Affordable age, status, gender, income, geographic location and ethnicity all affect a
person's ability to access and afford sufficient food. When there is a shortage of food the
rich are unlikely to go hungry but their demand for food increases the price and makes it
harder for poor people to obtain food.

1.3 Why food insecurity?

There are a number of factors which cause food insecurity:

1.3.1 Poverty: Poor people lack access to sufficient resources to produce or buy quality
food. Poor farmers may have very small farms, use less effective farming techniques,
and/or be unable to afford fertilizers and labour-saving equipment, as of which limit food
production. Often they cannot grow enough food for themselves and are even less able to
generate income by selling excess to others. They may be forced onto less productive
land which is prone to further environmental deterioration. Addressing poverty is
important to ensure all people can afford sufficient food.

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1.3.2 Health: Without sufficient calories and nutrients, the body slows down making it
difficult to undertake the work needed to produce food. Without good health, the body is
less able to make use of the food that is available. A hungry mother gives birth to an
underweight baby, who then faces a future of stunted growth, frequent illness, learning
disabilities, and reduced resistance to disease. Contaminated water and food can causes
illness, nutrient loss and often death in children.

1.3.3 Water and environment: Food production requires massive amounts of water. It
takes one cubic metre (1000 litres) of water to produce one kilogram of wheat and 5,000
litres of water for one kilogram of rice. Producing sufficient food is directly related to
having sufficient water. Increasing irrigation efficiency and limiting environment damage
through salinization or reduced soil fertility is important for ongoing food availability. (6)

1.3.4 Gender equity: Women play a vital role in providing food and nutrition for their
families through their roles as food producers, processors, traders and income earners.
Yet their lower social and economic status limits their access to education, training, land
ownership, decision making and credit and consequently their ability to improve their
access to and use of food. Food utilization can be enhanced by improving women's
knowledge of nutrition and food safety and the prevention of illnesses.

1.3.5 Disasters and conflicts: Droughts, floods, cyclones and pests can quickly wipe out
large quantities of food as it grows or is stored for later use or planting. Conflicts can also
reduce or destroy food in production or storage. Farmers flee their fields for safety or
become involved in the fighting. Previously productive land may be contaminated with
explosive debris and need to be cleared before it can be used for food production again.
Stored food, seeds and breeding livestock may be eaten or destroyed by soldiers or
opposing groups leading to long-term food shortages.

Box-1

“The Pakistan government has sought United Nations intervention to help avert
nutrition crisis among 84,000 displaced persons in Balochistan. They had to leave
the comforts of their homes and association of the neighbourhood to save their lives.
The government, in the past, had been rejecting the presence of internally displaced
persons (IDPs) in the province and had prevented aid groups from helping them. A
senior UN official revealed that among 84,000 IDPs facing nutrition, more than 70
per cent were women and children (26,000 women and 33,000 children). The
survival of several thousands children was said to be in great danger. The horrifying
fact is that a large number of children have already died of acute malnutrition. The
Unicef assessment has revealed that 80 per cent of deaths among the IDPs were of
children under the age of five. The assessment, however, did not disclose the number

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of displaced persons died of nutrition so far, and how many of them were women
and elderly people”. (Weekly Pulse, Islamabad, Dec 29-Jan 04, 2007)

1.3.6 Population and urbanization: Population growth increases the demand for food.
With most productive land already in use there is pressure for this land to become
increasingly productive. Expanding cities spread out across productive land, reducing the
agricultural production including food production.

1.3.7 Trade: Many poor countries can produce staples more cheaply than rich nations but
barriers to trade, such as distance from markets, quarantine regulations and tariffs make it
difficult for them to compete in export markets against highly subsidised farmers in rich
countries.

1.4 Right to food

1.4.1 Article 25 (1) of Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 outlines the right
to food as:

1. Respect: States must refrain from violating the right to food e.g. discrimination
against women, forced displacement from lands. This can also be used for the
international perspective – developed countries’ governments should not
knowingly violate the right to food of citizens in other countries through e.g.
trade rules.
2. Protect: Third parties must refrain from violations, and government has a duty
to regulate third parties – this relates to corporate violations, regulatory
frameworks e.g. for GMOs, and to armed opposition groups.
3. Fulfill: States must take positive action to progressively realize the right to food
for all – relates to food security policies, trade issues etc.

The right to food is set out in the International Covenant on Economics, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (Article 11.1), the Convention on the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women (Article 14 g/h), and the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (Article 24 c). At national level, there are varying constitutional, civil and
customary laws which reflect human rights standards at domestic level.

Box-2

The UN General Assembly, recalling inter alia the 1948 Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) and the ICESCR, has reaffirmed the right of every one: “to
have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food
and the fundamental right to every one to be free from hunger so as to be able fully
to develop and maintain their physical and mental capacities.

UN General Assembly Resolution 56/155 of 15 February, 2002

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1.4.2 Constitution of Pakistan

Article 38 (d) of the Constitution of Pakistan ensures provision of basic necessities of life
including food for the citizens of Pakistan. It says:

“The State shall provide basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, housing,
education and medical relief, for all citizens, irrespective of sex, caste, creed or race, as
are permanently or temporarily unable to earn their livelihood on account of infirmity,
sickness or unemployment”.

1.5 Components of food security

Food security can be broadly divided into three main components namely; food
availability (physical access to food), economic access to food, and equity of food
distribution. According to some experts, however, the third component of food security is
‘effective food utilization or absorption’.

1.5.1 Food availability

Food availability is achieved when sufficient quantities of food are consistently available
to all individuals. Sources of such a food supply could be household’s own production,
other domestic output, commercial imports or food assistance.

1.5.2 Access to food

Access to food is ensured when a household and all members of the household have
enough (economic) resources to acquire food meeting the nutritional requirements and
dietary needs of the household. Access is thus primarily a function of a household’s
income, its distribution within the household and the price of food, besides the physical
aspect. Economic accessibility implies that personal or household financial costs
associated with the acquisition of food, to meet dietary needs adequately, should be at
such a level that the attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs are not threatened or
compromised.

1.5.3 Food utilization or absorption

Food availability and economic access to food alone can not ensure food security as
proper food absorption is equally important. It has public health dimension and requires a
diet providing sufficient energy and essential nutrients, along with access to potable
water and adequate sanitation. Food absorption also depends on the knowledge within the
household of food storage and processing techniques, basic principles of nutrition, proper
child care and illness management. (7)

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1.5.4 Equity of food distribution

While there are sufficient resources in the world to provide food security for all, policy
and behavioural changes are necessary to guarantee a fair share for all people, especially
the poor. Equity is a major issue of concern related to food security, particularly in the
context of Pakistan wherein inequity in land holdings and incomes is relatively high.
There is a wide variation in income, human development as well as overall development
across regions and provinces. Ethnic divide within some provinces makes the intra-
provincial inequities more sensitive than they would have been in a homogenous set-up.
(8)

2 - Agriculture and Food Security

Land and water are important natural resources for mankind. The demand for food, fiber,
and shelter is increasing with the continuous increase in the world’s population. The rapid
urbanization, continuous tillage, and greater use of fossil fuels, fertilizers and pesticides
are polluting the natural resources and environment.

Food production is mainly dependant upon land and water resources. More than 90 per
cent of rice and 43 per cent of wheat in the world is produced and consumed in Asia. The
rice-wheat system, one of the major cropping systems of the South Asia and parts of East
Asia, requires special management. Due to management differences and traditional
cultural cultivation practices, the productivity of the rice-wheat system is stagnating and
its sustainability threatened.

The introduction of new varieties and chemical fertilizes, during the green revolution of
the 1960s, resulted in increase in crop yields. But, intensive cultivation, increased use of
fertilizers, pesticides, conventional soil management practices, and improper use of
irrigation water resulted in deterioration of land and water resources leading to poor crop
yields. Large fertile areas fell prey to water logging and salinity, making small farmers
more food insecure.

2.1 Agriculture in Pakistan

Agriculture is considered the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy. According to the

Economic Survey of Pakistan 2001-2002, nearly one-fourth of total output of the GDP
and 44 per cent of total employment is generated in agriculture. More than 67 per cent of
the country’s rural population is directly or indirectly linked with agriculture for their
livelihood. What ever happens to agriculture is bound to affect the livelihood and
consequently food security of the poor rural people. Agriculture’s share in the GDP has
declined from 38 per cent in 1969-70 to 28 per cent in 2001-02. Decline of agriculture
and shrinking livelihood opportunities have resulted in rising poverty in rural areas. (9)

Agriculture is an important sector, providing food to the fast growing population of the
country. With a population growth rate of 2.23 per cent, there will be a net addition of 3.0
million people each year. According to United Nations Statement on Food Security in

Page 10 of 26
Pakistan, 2000, in more than 50 years (1948-2000), the population has increased four-
folds but during this period the production of wheat, the major food crop, has increased
only 2.9 fold. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, however, claims that wheat
production in the country has increased by 647 per cent (more than 6.4 fold) during 1948
to 2006 whereas increase in the area was 210 per cent during this period. The country's
consumption requirement, however, is approximately 21.3 million tons per year.

In Pakistan, agriculture production is dominated by crop production, which accounts for

almost 61 per cent of agriculture’s GDP (at constant prices). Livestock accounts for
almost 35 percent. In 2000, Fisheries and forestry make up about four per cent of the
GDP. There are four major crops; wheat, rice, cotton and sugarcane. Among the minor
crops the most important are; fruits and vegetables, followed by pulses and oilseeds. The
main successes since the 1960s have been in the production of wheat, rice, cotton and
poultry products. Although self-sufficiency has not yet been achieved in grain
production, rice and cotton have contributed substantially to increased export earnings.

During the period of 1990-91 to 1999-2000, the major crops sub-sector witnessed a
growth rate of only 2.87 per cent. The other sub-sectors such as minor crops and
livestock did well in the 1990s but fisheries slowed down. Income from forestry is
declining due to ban on harvesting enforced since 1997-98 for forestry protection.

Wheat production fluctuated between 14.56 million tons in 1990-91 to 21.5 in 2005-06.
The relative success story of wheat, rice and cotton has not been repeated in sugarcane
though its production has increased mainly through increased area which went up from
190,000 hectares in 1948 to a record 1.16 million hectares in 1998-99, declining to one
million hectares in 1999-2000. Sugarcane yields have remained more or less static. For
oil seeds, the country turned from self-sufficiency into a major importer of edible oils. In
2000, the imports represented 65 per cent of domestic consumption. Area under maize
has doubled since 1948 but its yield has not shown any significant improvement due to
lack of high yielding varieties and most of the crop in NWFP continues to be grown
under rain-fed conditions. (10)

Table-1

AREA, PRODUCTION AND YIELD OF WHEAT IN PAKISTAN

Year Area (m. ha) Production (m. tones) Yield (kg/ha)

1999-00 8.463 21.079 2491

2000-01 8.261 19.018 2302
2001-02 8.058 18.226 2262
2002-03 8.034 19.183 2388
2003-04 8.216 19.500 2375
2004-05 8.358 21.612 2586
2005-06 8.303 21.700 2614
2006-07 8.459 23.031 2723 (estimates)
Average 8.219 19.879 2420
Source: Ministry of Food, Agriculture & Livestock, Federal Bureau of Statistics

Page 11 of 26
Wheat being the staple diet is the most important crop and cultivated on the largest
acreages (8.459 million hectares during the growing season 2006-07) in almost every part
of the country. It contributes 13.7 per cent to the value added in agriculture and 3.0 per
cent to GDP. There are progressive farmers of irrigated area who are harvesting 6 to 7
tons yield per hectare. However, farmers yield ranges 0.5 to 1.3 tons per hectare
depending on the amount of rainfall. The yield in irrigated area ranges from 2.5 to 2.8
tons per hectare depending upon the amount of water available and other factors.

There is around 60 per cent yield gap in wheat, which needs to be narrowed. Wheat
production in the country, however, has been well below potential and variable. The
major reasons for low productivity and instability includes: delayed harvesting of kharif
crops like cotton, sugarcane and rice, and consequent late planting of wheat, non
availability of improved inputs like seeds, inefficient fertilizer use, weed infestation,
shortage of irrigation water, drought in rain-fed area and terminal heat stress, soil
degradation, and inefficient extension services. Moreover, farmers are not aware of
modern technologies because of weak extension services system. (11)

2.2 Rural people remain poor

The World Bank’s latest, April 2007, report on Rural Poverty in Pakistan states that over
the last century, Pakistan has successfully harnessed the Indus River to develop a major
irrigated-agriculture sector that remains the backbone of its economy. However, the
country is divided by income inequality and geographic disparities that are an increasing
source of concern, and which are likely to be potentially destabilizing. These divisions
are particularly pronounced in the agriculture sector, as most of the rural poor lack access
to land and irrigation water.

After a decade of moderate growth, there is little or no long-term change in rural poverty
in Pakistan. The impressive achievements (during the past few years) notwithstanding,
there is not yet cause for complacency. Approximately 35 million rural people remain
poor (accounting for about 80 percent of Pakistan’s poor), and rural poverty rates in
2004-05 were still at levels approximating those of the 1990s. And in spite of
improvements, non-income measures of welfare related to health and education are low
in comparison with those of other countries in South Asia. Infant mortality per 1000 live
births is 82 in Pakistan (88 in rural areas), compared to only 62 in India, 56 in
Bangladesh and 12 in Sri Lanka. The national primary school enrollment rate for girls in
Pakistan is only 48 percent (42 percent in rural areas), compared to 86 percent in India.

The longer term agricultural GDP per capita growth rate (1999-2000 to 2004-05) was
only 0.3 percent annually. In addition, much of the improvement in total incomes can be
attributed to a steep rise in net private unrequited transfers from abroad (including
workers’ remittances). By 2005-06 these transfers averaged more than Rs 3,000 per
person for Pakistan’s entire population, equivalent to more than two-thirds the real output
of crop agriculture or livestock production. Yet, these transfer incomes, some of which
accrue to rural households or are spent on rural and small-town products and services,
may not continue to grow at the rates of recent years. (12)

Page 12 of 26
2.3 Who are the Rural Poor?

Although agriculture is at the heart of the rural economy, the majority of Pakistan’s rural
poor are neither tenant farmers nor farm owners. Farmers (including both owners and
tenants) comprised only 43 percent of households in the bottom 40 percent of the rural
per capita expenditure distribution in 2004-05. Non-farm households (excluding
agricultural labourer households) accounted for slightly more than half (52 percent) of the
poor. Overall, agriculture (including both crop and livestock production) accounts for
only about 40 percent of rural household incomes; the poorest 40 percent of rural
households derive only about 30 percent of their total income from agriculture.

Box-3
A Class-for-Itself?
Small farmers have long been viewed as a doomed class by many economists,
technocrats, policymakers, and urban intellectuals. Once regarded as passive
objects to be manipulated by elites, they are now resisting the capitalist, socialist,
and 'developmentalist' paradigms that would consign them to ruin. They have
become what Karl Marx described as a politically conscious 'class-for-itself.' And
even as peasants refuse to 'go gently into that good night,' to borrow a line from
Dylan Thomas, developments in the 21st century are revealing traditional pro-
development visions to be deeply flawed. The escalating protests of peasant groups
such as Via Campesina, are not a return to the past. As environmental crises
multiply and the social dysfunctions of urban-industrial life pile up, we realize that
the farmers' movement has relevance not only to peasants, but to everyone who is
threatened by the catastrophic consequences of obsolete modernist paradigms for
organizing production, community, and life.

Walden Bello

A major reason for the large proportion of rural non-farm poor in Pakistan, as well as
poverty levels among small farmers, is the prevailing highly unequal distribution of land
and access to water. According to the 2000 Agricultural Census, only 37 percent of rural
households owned land, and 61 percent of these land-owning households owned fewer
than five acres, or 15 percent of total land. Access to usable water is also quite unequal
which is a major cause of lower productivity in the dry lands (barani) relative to irrigated
land, land at the tail end of watercourses relative to land at the head end, and areas with
saline groundwater as compared with areas that have sweet groundwater. Because of this
skewed distribution of ownership and access to productive assets, much of the direct
gains in income from crop production, particularly irrigated agriculture, accrue to higher-
income farmers. (13)

2.4 Agricultural growth is not enough

The World Bank’s report further states that agricultural growth is a necessary, but not
sufficient, condition for rapid reduction of rural poverty. Agricultural growth remains

Page 13 of 26
important to raise the incomes of small farmers and to generate growth linkages by
increasing demand for rural non-farm goods and services. However, in most of rural
Pakistan, the impact of agricultural growth linkages on rural poverty is limited for two
reasons. First, much of the gains in rural incomes are spent on urban goods and services.
Second, gains to non-agricultural rural incomes and employment as a result of growth
linkages are shared among a large number of rural poor.

Pakistan’s rural and small-town non-farm sector, however, faces numerous constraints,
particularly concerning access to credit and inadequate infrastructure. As in other South
Asian countries, the non-farm sector in Pakistan’s rural villages and small towns
primarily consists of family based micro-enterprises, averaging only about two workers
per enterprise. Poor road infrastructure raises transport costs and reduces profitability.
Lack of access to reliable electricity (half of village enterprises reported power outages of
20 days or more in a typical month) limits production or necessitates private investment
in generators.

Moreover, high rates of rural-urban migration and the increasing integration of the rural
and urban economies point to the importance of investment in human capital, in addition
to policies addressing growth of the agricultural and rural non-farm sectors. As in most of
Asia, Pakistan’s economy is in the midst of a major transformation involving growing
urbanization and increased linkages among rural, urban and international markets. About
two-thirds of Pakistan’s population lives in rural areas, where average per capita
expenditures are 31 per cent lower than those in urban areas (Rs 1259/month and Rs
1818/month in 2004-05, respectively). (14)

3– Food Poverty

Food insecurity in Pakistan is a product of poverty and inadequate food availability. The
term food poverty is commonly used to determine the level of poverty viz-a-viz food
security in a country. During the past two decades, 1987-2007, food poverty incidence in
the country shows that about one-third of the households were living below the food
poverty line and they were not meeting their nutritional requirements. The incidence of
food poverty is higher in rural areas (35 per cent), than in urban areas (26 per cent).
Urban and rural areas, however, did not differ much in terms of calorie intake per capita,
the differences across the four provinces were also not substantial. The problem lies in
the non-equity of food distribution within each of these categories and even within the
members of the household.

The national household survey in 1998-99 showed that household income was usually
used to buy food items from the market. The value of food items produced and consumed
was about 19 per cent of the total monthly household food expenditure. The proportion of
the food items received as ‘wages in kind and consumed’ was less than one per cent. The
survey indicated that disabled and/or aged persons and widows usually living alone were
the principal receivers of food assistance, probably from their relatives and neighbours.

Page 14 of 26
The major difference in the mode of procurement of consumed food items was between
rural and urban areas. Households located in urban areas used their incomes to buy food
from the market, while rural households produced substantial proportion of food required
for their subsistence. The other major difference was between poor and non-poor
households within the rural areas. A large proportion of non-poor households had access
to agricultural land, the value of food items they produced and consumed was about 48.4
per cent of their total monthly food expenditure. In the case of poor rural households, this
share was only 30 per cent.

Table-2

ACCESS TO FOOD BY RURAL POPULATION IN PAKISTAN

Access Zone Punjab NWFP Sindh Balochistan Northern AJK FATA Total
Areas
DISTRICTS
Extremely
5 17 6 15 5 1 7 56
Low
Very Low 7 5 4 5 - 1 - 22
Low 6 - 4 5 - 2 - 17
Moderate 5 1 2 - - 1 - 9
High 11 1 1 1 - 2 - 16
Total 34 24 17 26 5 7 7 120

FSA 2003

The survey showed that procurement of food items had some relationship with both
poverty and farm/non-farm status of households. Poor and/or non-farm households
generally buy food that is required for their subsistence, while farm households appear to
be relatively better off because they produce a substantial proportion of food required for
basic subsistence.

There was no significance difference in the prevalence of chronic malnutrition in low and
medium socio-economic groups but was significantly low (26% less) in the high socio-
economic group. This showed that the low and medium groups lack the purchasing power
that hinders their food consumption levels while in the high socio-economic group the
lack of adequate nutrition education may be the main cause. (15)

Box-4

With the globalization of the market, and the associated curtailing of subsistence
agriculture, the pre-dominant method of establishing an entitlement to food has
become that of the exercise of purchasing power, and consequently it is those
without purchasing power who will go hungry amidst a world of plenty.
Amartya Sen

Page 15 of 26
4 - Food insecurity in rural Pakistan

Food insecurity and consequently food poverty has been on increase over time. Among
the possible reasons inter alia are the sharp increase in market price of food items
compared to wages, non-equity in food distribution, slow growth in public sector and
deteriorating land and water resources.

Food Security Analysis (FSA) of Pakistan conducted by Sustainable Development Policy

Institute (SDPI) and United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) does not agree with
the commonly held opinion that Pakistan is moderately food secure at macro level. The
FSA’s findings support the argument that hidden hunger is more pronounced in Pakistan
that what macro picture of food security presents. In view of growing population pressure
and resultant demand of food, the study estimates an annual shortfall of 3.2 million tons
of wheat alone, the main staple, on the basis of average annual wheat harvest of 18
million tons.

FSA 2003 for rural Pakistan was undertaken from June 2003 to June 2004. It analyzed,
using a set of relevant indicators, available secondary data on the basis of three key
determinants of food security namely physical access to food (availability), economic
access to food and effective biological utilization (food absorption). Its findings translate
into a “State of Food Insecurity” prevailing in rural Pakistan.

Food availability was assessed on the basis of food production and consumption. Out of
120 district settings in Pakistan, 74 (62%) were found to be food deficit in terms of net
availability. This deficit varies ranging from low through high to extreme degree. Wheat,
a staple catering for 48 per cent of caloric needs in Pakistan, was found deficit in terms of
net availability, and the shortage was estimated at 3.2 million tons annually. Out of 120
districts, only 48 (40%) were producing surplus or enough to cater to the needs of those
districts.

Table-3

WHEAT PRODUCTION AND DEMAND IN PAKISTAN

Surplus (29 Additional
Surplus [+]/
Surplus Deficit Districts) Requirement in
Districts Deficit [-] in
Districts Districts Net Production Deficit districts in
000 M. Tons
In 000 M Tons 000 M. Tons
Punjab 20 4 2823.38 1601.67 1221.71
NWFP - 9 - 1745.63 -1745.63
Sindh 6 22 622.35 2181.55 -1559.20
Balochistan 3 18 150.90 612.03 -461.13
NAs - 5 - 69.04 -69.04
AJK - 7 - 295.39 -295.39
FATA - 7 - 313.60 -313.60
Total 29 72 3596.63 6818.91 -3222.28

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FSA 2003

The analysis ranked, in terms of availability, NWFP, Northern Area (NAs) and Azad
Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as net food insecure.

The study also indicates that mega cities pitted against mounting population
pressure are also being adversely affected. For example, even in wheat surplus
province of Punjab, provincial capital Lahore, home to 81 per cent of the district
population, was among the net food insecure zones in terms of availability.

On overall crop-based food availability (exclusive of livestock products), out of 120

districts, 39 (32%) had surplus production, 6 (5%) were self-reliant while 35 (29%) were
extremely insecure and 40 (33%) experienced deficit of low to high degree. (16)

In terms of economic access to food, as against food availability, FSA 2003 revealed that
income inequality factors especially land, and access to opportunities such as education
and employment have led to a wide range of disparities. Consequently, women, labour,
landless and small farmers are being adversely affected in terms of access to food.

Reduced capacity of agriculture sector in terms of gainful employment is another

important factor impacting opportunities in rural Pakistan. Further, as majority of
holdings were small, such as in 105 (88%) out of 120 districts, percentage of marginal
cultivators having less than one acre of land was to 30 per cent. The small farmers were
thus unable to enhance agricultural productivity beyond a certain limit for want of
resources and economy of scale. The low income of 96 (80%) districts out of 120 found
further plunging into low through very low to extremely low income bracket, impacted
economic access to food. (17)

Table-4

PER CAPITA INCOME IN PAKISTAN

Level of Punjab NWFP Sindh Balochistan Northern AJK FATA Total
Income Areas
DISTRICTS
Extremely
2 11 4 4 4 2 7 34
Low
Very Low 18 7 6 10 1 5 - 47
Low 7 3 2 3 - - - 15
Moderate 3 3 5 5 - - - 16
High 4 - - 4 - - - 8
Total 34 24 17 26 5 7 7 120

FSA 2003

Effective biological utilization or food absorption was assessed on the basis of parameters
including access to safe drinking water, immunization cover and infant mortality, access

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to medics and paramedics and rural health infrastructure. It revealed that out of 120 only
11 (9%) districts of Pakistan performed reasonably well while 45 (38%) experienced
extremely low rate of food absorption. The contributory factors to this state of affairs
include inter alia the poor access to potable water, for example in 113 (94%) out of 120
districts, safe drinking was available to less than 50 per cent of the population. It implies
that 50 per cent of the population uses unsafe water which contaminates food. (18)

Table-5

SAFE DRINKING WATER IN RURAL PAKISTAN

Percentage Punjab NWFP Sindh Balochistan Northern AJK FATA Total
Areas
DISTRICTS
0-10 16 1 2 11 - - 2 32
11-20 9 4 13 9 - - 2 37
21-30 8 5 1 3 3 3 3 26
31-50 1 11 - - 2 4 - 18
51 and above - 3 1 3 - - - 7
Total 34 24 17 26 5 7 7 120

FSA 2003

5 – Strategic options

5.1 Agricultural growth has played a major role in the country’s development and
continues to be crucial for overall growth and poverty reduction. World Bank’s report on
Rural Poverty suggests following options to reduce poverty;

• Promotion of efficient and sustainable agricultural growth to raise the incomes of

small farmers and to generate growth linkages in the rural non-farm economy.
Programs to increase livestock production, especially production of dairy cattle
and milk in Punjab and Sindh, and sheep and goats in NWFP and Baluchistan,
could have significant direct impact on the incomes and food security of the rural

•
poor,
Creation of an enabling environment for the rural non-farm sector to enhance
employment and incomes, and improve rural public service delivery in
infrastructure, health and education to serve as a foundation for growth and to

•
increase household welfare and food security,
Enhancement of the effectiveness and governance of rural institutions through
decentralization and strengthen local demand for enhanced accountability. Five
years after devolution, there is still confusion regarding the roles and
responsibilities of the various levels of government, as well as apparent
jurisdictional overlaps. Immediate steps should be taken to begin to alleviate these
administrative constraints and improve the efficiency of spending, and

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 • Empowerment of the poor and protection of the most vulnerable through social
mobilization, safety nets and by facilitating access to productive assets for
income-generating activities for poverty reduction and food security. (19)

5.2 Food security has basically three dimensions; adequacy of food supply, access to
food, and equity of food distribution. All these dimensions require special interventions
and enabling environment for ensuring household food security. Following are the policy
and strategic options recommended by the United Nations System in Pakistan to reduce
food insecurity; (20)

5.2.1 Sustainable and efficient utilization of the natural resources

ƒ Land: Land related problems like depleting soil fertility, soil erosion, water
logging and salinity needs immediate attention to achieve yield potential of crop.
The other option is to take up new lands for agriculture. At the moment there is
about 4 million acres land in the riverine belt of the country which should be
distributed among local landless peasants. These are virgin lands where there is
no shortage of moisture. The special conditions attached to these areas, especially
bio-diversity have to be taken into consideration.

ƒ Water: The efficient and effective use of irrigation water is most crucial to the
future of Pakistan. It is also necessary that the government should plan for the
future needs, taking into account agricultural, domestic, and industrial demand of
the future and impact on the environment. There is urgent need for the
government to ensure adequate and timely availability of water for farming to
enhance food production and availability. The lowering of the water table is a
serious issue in Balochistan, where the installation of large number of tubewells
for irrigation is the main factor. Efficient utilization will not only promote food
production, but also ensure the sustainable use of the ground water. In arid areas
of the country like Cholistan, Tharparker and greater part of Balochistan, efficient
rainwater utilization can be done through better water harvesting techniques and
more efficient use of the available water resources. In the Rod-Kohi and dry
mountainous areas, rainwater harvesting, storage and management including
increasing the capacity ofthe main reservoirs should be given higher priority.

5.2.2 Proper application of physical inputs

ƒ Seed: Improved seed is one of the important factors in crop productivity

enhancement, but unfortunately this category of seed coverage is within low range
of 14-20% for wheat and other major food crops. The productivity of the food
crops can be substantially enhanced through increased use of quality seed.

ƒ Fertilizer: Proper use of organic and inorganic fertilizers is also critical for
maintaining soil fertility to enhance agriculture productivity. Fertilizers should be
used according to the site-specific requirements of crops. The current use of plant
nutrients is not only imbalanced and inadequate, but inefficient as well. The use

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 of organic and inorganic fertilizer needs to be encouraged in an integrated
manner.

ƒ Credit: Due to the financial limitations, the small farmers are largely dependent
on credit to procure agriculture inputs. The existing credit procurement system is
complicated and not in easy access to small farmers. There is an immediate need
to simplify such procedures. The agriculture loan should be broad based, and
flexible enough to provide credit for variety of agriculture related activities.
Credit should be extended to the rural non-farm households, including rural poor,
landless farmers and women for their income generation. .

ƒ Pesticides: There is indiscriminate use of pesticides for plant protection.

Integrated Pest Management should be promoted for sustainable plant protection.
In this regard, policy changes have to be made, and effective implementation
arrangement has to be put in place.

5.2.3 Productivity enhancement of major food crops

ƒ Wheat: The yield range for the wheat is in the range of 0.8 to 5.5 tons per ha. This
clearly indicates that through improved management the gap can be reduced, and
correspondingly substantial increase would be obtained in the production. In view
of the special concern for food security, a quick and sustainable increase in wheat
productivity is essential.

ƒ Rice: The yield of rice is about 2.0 tons/ha against expected yield of 2.56 tons/ha.
This increase in yield could be easily achieved through good management
practices at farm level. Rice productivity can be increased through increasing
plantation intensity, mechanized transplanting and reducing post harvesting
losses. The strategic option for the rice would be to increase the productivity of
the crop, while keeping the same area under this crop due to its high water
requirement.

ƒ Maize: This crop is mainly grown in the rain-fed areas of NWFP and Punjab. The
current production level is about 1.7 million tons. Maize can play an important
role in food security as it is grown in poor areas of the country (the mountainous
and rainfed areas), which are generally food insecure. The potential of maize to
contribute towards more nutritive food for human consumption is high. Presently,
the maize yield is far below its potential (1.5 vs.10-12 tons/ha) which should be
enhanced.

ƒ Oil seed: The local production of the oil seed is low, and the country imports a
large quantity to fulfil the demand of the fast growing population. There is a need
to exploit the potential of the oil crops by creating more attractive and conducive
environment through the establishment of an effective marketing system of oil
seed crops, besides bringing new varieties of high yield.

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5.2.4 Identification and targeting the food insecure people

ƒ In the context of access to food, it would be important to identify the food

insecure people, who are financially poor and are unable to acquire sufficient
food, even if the overall supply of food in the country is sufficient, and to improve
co-ordination, information and statistical data on food insecure and vulnerable
groups.

5.2.5 Diversification of on-farm and off-farm income generation activities

ƒ In order to raise the financial capability of the poor specially women to have
purchasing power for the essential food items, diversification of income both from
on-farm and off- farm should be encouraged. There is great scope and potential of
increasing yields of short-term cash crops, like vegetable items produced and
marketed in the nearest urban areas. This is especially the case with lands situated
in the urban and peri-urban areas where proximity to large towns enables an
efficient marketing strategy. This can be further integrated into livestock and
small ruminant development. This would require the integrated development of
the farming system as a whole.

5.2.6 Stabilization of input and output prices

ƒ Keeping in view, the poor financial situation of the food insecure people, it would
be required to put in place input and price polices in such a way to rationalize the
prices of both inputs and outputs. Sudden and drastic changes and fluctuations
would definitely affect poor to have access to food. At the top of it is to give the
farmer a fair return in the market place.

5.2.7 Inter-regional and urban-rural disparity

ƒ In spite of adequate food production at the national level, severe food shortages
have been experienced in certain parts of the country. These food shortages are
considered to be the most significant threat to food security in these areas.
Besides, growing urban populations coupled with decreased economic activities
has resulted in massive urban slums with millions of food insecure people
including female-headed households. Similar population increases in rural areas
has exasperated the food insecurity situation. The traditional coping mechanisms
of rural societies are severed in the urban areas with little or less reliable
substitutes. This adds a drastic complication to the food insecure urbanites.
Investments in agriculture and related rural infrastructure would sustain more
population in the rural areas thus benefiting the immediate area as well as
relieving urban areas of future immigrants.

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5.2.8 Distribution of land and access to the resources and inputs

ƒ The distribution of land resource is skewed. In addition, large farmers have easier
access to resources like water, and credit. Small farmers suffer from resource
starvation. Even within the small farmer category, there is a case for improving
the conditions of the poorest of the poor i.e. those that own one hectare or less.
Therefore more emphasis should be made to facilitate easy access of the majority
of small farmers to the land, water and other essential agriculture inputs. This will
help in the overall agriculture growth of the country.

5.2.9 Gender inequity

ƒ Inequity is greatly reflected in gender. In the rural areas, the women are generally
uneducated, and the male members control the resources, in spite of the fact that
the female contributes a lot of labour for food production. In this way they are
unable to maintain their own assets. It will be required to focus more on women
and children, especially girls to bring them at par with other members of the
family.

5.2.10 Skill development and exposure to the development

ƒ Skill development and capacity building are important factors for equity. Well-
trained farmers will have more confidence for undertaking small food related
enterprises, which would help in their economic uplift. Efforts have to be made to
develop capacity of the farmers (both male and female) for undertaking small
businesses and enterprises.
.
5.2.11 Improving the nutritional aspects of food

ƒ Ensuring the food security for household is not only related to availability, but
also whether the food fulfils the nutritional requirement of its consumer. Through
balance diet and good food quality and removal of gender inequity, the nutritional
aspects of the food security can be enhanced. Exploring and promoting cheaper
alternatives for nutritional requirement is a necessity.

5.2.12 Vegetable and Pulses Production

ƒ In order to provide the required proteins and vitamins, it will be important to

promote household vegetable production in the form of kitchen gardens. Poor and
small farmers do not have the financial resource to buy these items from the open
market, and they heavily rely on cereal, which fulfills the caloric requirement of
the body, but lack the nutritional part of it. Growing vegetables and pulses will
compensate for the nutritional value of the food. Similarly pulses can compensate
for meat, which is generally beyond the purchasing power of poor farmers.

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5.2.13 Rural poultry and rearing of small ruminants

ƒ Rural poultry is another important protein source, which can be promoted for
improving nutritional aspect of the diet. In this regard rural poultry have to be
brought as potential intervention for the rural areas. It is a women intervention
and is known as a widow's industry. The peri-urban areas could certainly take
advantage of this. Small ruminants are reared mainly by the small farmers and
landless. For them it is a source of cash reserve, as well as nutritional resource.
The possible interventions would include providing access to credit for such
intervention with soft collateral. Also the selection of proper animals according to
the terrain and feed availability is helpful.

5.2.14 Inland fisheries

ƒ The field of inland fisheries could bring phenomenal increase in income, as this
would be primarily in the urban, peri- urban and in some case where infrastructure
exists for peri-rural areas. The private fish farming would be good venue for
future investment for the food insecure areas, especially in the waste and water
logged lands.

6 – Supporting requirements

6.1 Removing policy distortion

ƒ There is a need for a continuous review of macro-economic framework to remove

the policy bias against agriculture. Policy distortions not only depressed the prices
for major crops but also resulted in large price variations between years. There is
a need to evolve a policy that keeps this variation within narrow bands. There is a
need for government to rationalize public investment as this encourages private
investment in agriculture.

6.2 Provision of rural infrastructure

ƒ Rural infrastructure and human resource development have the attributes of

"public goods", especially in a society composed of a large number of small
farmers and poor people. The provision of an effective rural infrastructure,
particularly rural roads, electricity, drinking water, and educational and health
facilities is one of the most important instruments that relaxes the constraints
faced by the farmers and the non-farming poor rural people.

6.3 Human Resource Development

ƒ Raising the literacy level is an essential condition for the success of rural
development programs. There is also a need to give vocational training to both
farmers, workers in small-scale rural enterprises and traders and entrepreneurs

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 and to strengthen the agricultural colleges and universities in their efforts to
produce better research and extension manpower.

6.4 Research and extension support services

Research system needs a thorough revamp in terms of focus, mandate, management and
manpower planning and development. Research on high value crops, livestock, fisheries,
Forests’ conservation, post-harvest handling, irrigation water management and
management of soils problems need to be given much higher priority. The provincial
extension services also need overhauling. It should give more emphasis to technology
demonstration and the use of broadcast media to spread its messages. It needs further
focus on middle and small farmers using group participatory approach and to strengthen
its linkages with the research institutes. (20)

Page 24 of 26
7 - References

1- Daily Times, Lahore, May 4, 2007

2- Food Security in the Global Age: South Asian Dilemma, 2001, SAWTEE,
Pro-Public and CI-ROAP, Kathmandu
3- International Campaign on the Right to Food, Actionaid International,
Campaign Strategy, 2007-2011
4- Global hunger and food security after the World Food Summit, ODI
Briefing Paper, 1997 (1), London: Overseas Development Institue
5- Rome Declaration on World Food Security and World Food Summit Plan of
Action, 13-17 November, 1996, Rome
6- Article, Business Recorder, Karachi, October 16, 2004
7- Food Insecurity in Rural Pakistan 2003, World Food Program (WFP)
Pakistan, SDPI, Islamabad
8- United Nations Statement on Food Security in Pakistan 2000, United
Nations System in Pakistan, Islamabad
9- Mazhar Arif, Land, peasants and Poverty: Equitable Land Reforms in
Pakistan, 2004, The Network Publications, Islamabad
10- United Nations Statement on Food Security in Pakistan 2000, United
Nations System in Pakistan, Islamabad
11- National Coordinated Wheat Programme, Briefing Paper, Pakistan
Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Islamabad
12- World Bank, Rural Poverty Report on Pakistan, April 2007
13- Ibid
14- Ibid
15- United Nations Statement on Food Security in Pakistan 2000, United
Nations System in Pakistan, Islamabad
16- Food Insecurity in Rural Pakistan 2003, World Food Program (WFP)
Pakistan, SDPI, Islamabad
17- Ibid
18- Ibid
19- World Bank, Rural Poverty Report on Pakistan, April 2007
20- United Nations Statement on Food Security in Pakistan 2000, United
Nations System in Pakistan, Islamabad

Page 25 of 26
Food Democracy vs Food Dictatorship

In any case, amaranth is not the only source of protein in India’s rich bio-diversity
and cuisine. Our “dals,” pulses, and legumes that are a staple with rice as ̌dal-
chawal̍ and with wheat as ̌dal-roti̍ are rich in protein. The consumption of
̌dals̍ and pulses provides much higher levels of proteins than genetically
engineered potatoes can. Pulses are also necessary for sustainable agriculture, since
they are nitrogen-fixing crops and provide an ecological alternative to chemical
nitrogenous fertilizers. Pulses have been made expensive by being made scarce
through the spread of green revolution mono-cultures of wheat and rice. In (Indian)
Punjab alone, the area under pulses went down from 13.38 per cent to 3.48 per cent
during 1966-67 to 1985-86. Traditional agriculture was based on mixtures of cereals
and pulses. New initiatives like Navdanya are rejuvenating mixed cropping with
pulses to increase both nutritional security and ecological security.

GM foods are intrinsically linked to food dictatorship. The first level of control
comes from the fact that a handful of gene giants—Monsanto, Syngenta, Aventis,
Dow, Dupont—control agricultural biotechnology. The second level of control
comes from intellectual property and patent monopolies over GM seeds and plants.
The third level of control is created by stifling freedom of information and choice.
GM crops are only spreading where farmers are denied freedom of information and
freedom of choice because of corporate control and dependency. GM foods are
entering the food chain where consumers are denied the right to know and the right
to choose. U.S. farmers are the most trapped under corporate control of inputs and
marketing. U.S. citizens have been denied food freedom and food democracy by
corporations preventing labeling of GM foods.

Vandana Shiva

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