Jamshed Ahmed Awan
Food security is the condition in which 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. Food security is essential for a country because it affects its economic, social, and political stability, as well as its human development and environmental sustainability.
Food security contributes to the economic stability of a country by ensuring that its population has adequate income and purchasing power to access food and other basic needs. Food security also supports the productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural sector, which is a major source of income, employment, and foreign exchange for many countries. Moreover, food security reduces the vulnerability of a country to external shocks such as price fluctuations, trade restrictions, or natural disasters that can disrupt food supply and demand.
Food security enhances the social stability of a country by reducing the incidence and severity of poverty, hunger, malnutrition, and inequality among its population. Food security also improves the health and education outcomes of the population, especially children and women, who are more susceptible to the adverse effects of food insecurity. Furthermore, food security prevents or mitigates social conflicts and violence that can arise from food scarcity, deprivation, or injustice.
Food security strengthens the political stability of a country by increasing the legitimacy and accountability of the government and its institutions. Food security also fosters the participation and empowerment of the population in the democratic process and decision-making. Additionally, food security promotes the cooperation and integration of a country with other countries and regions through trade, aid, or diplomacy.
Food security supports a country’s human development by enhancing its population’s capabilities and potential to lead long, healthy, productive, and fulfilling lives. Food security also enables the population to enjoy their human rights and dignity, such as the right to food, health, education, work, and freedom. Moreover, food security facilitates the achievement of other development goals such as poverty reduction, gender equality, quality education, good health and well-being, decent work and economic growth.
Food security depends on and contributes to the environmental sustainability of a country by ensuring that its natural resources, such as land, water, biodiversity, and climate, are used efficiently and responsibly to produce food. Food security also minimizes the negative impacts of food production and consumption on the environment, such as pollution, waste, greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, or land degradation. Furthermore, food security encourages the adoption of sustainable practices such as organic farming, agroforestry, conservation agriculture, or climate-smart agriculture that can enhance food security while preserving the environment.
Food security in Pakistan is a complex and multifaceted issue that involves various administrative, agricultural, economic, hoarding, smuggling, production and allied standpoints.
Food security in Pakistan is affected by the lack of effective governance and coordination among different levels and sectors of the government, as well as the weak implementation and enforcement of policies and laws related to food production, distribution, quality, and safety. For example, there is no clear division of roles and responsibilities between the federal and provincial governments regarding food security, which leads to duplication, confusion, and gaps in service delivery. Moreover, there needs to be more transparency and accountability in managing food stocks and subsidies, which creates opportunities for corruption, misappropriation, and diversion of resources. Furthermore, there is a need to improve the regulatory framework and standards for food quality and safety, as well as the monitoring and inspection mechanisms to ensure compliance and prevent adulteration, contamination, and food wastage.
Furthermore, Food security in Pakistan is also influenced by the performance and sustainability of the agricultural sector, which faces several challenges, such as low productivity, inefficient use of inputs, water scarcity, land degradation, climate change, pest infestation, and natural disasters. For instance, Pakistan’s crop yields are among the lowest in the region due to the lack of access to improved seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, mechanization, extension services, and credit by smallholder farmers. Additionally, increased demand, poor management, wastage, pollution, and climate variability stress Pakistan’s water resources. Moreover, Pakistan’s soil quality is deteriorating due to erosion, salinity, sodicity, nutrient depletion, and desertification. Furthermore, Pakistan’s agriculture is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as rising temperatures, erratic rainfall patterns, droughts, floods, heat waves, and crop failures.
Then, food security in Pakistan also depends on the economic conditions and policies that affect the availability and affordability of food for different population segments. For example, Pakistan’s economic growth has been sluggish and uneven in recent years due to political instability, security issues, fiscal deficits, debt burden, inflation, trade imbalance, energy crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These have resulted in low-income levels, high unemployment rates, rising poverty rates, and widening inequality among different regions and groups. Consequently, many people need more purchasing power and access to food markets. Moreover, Pakistan’s food prices have been volatile and increasing over time due to various factors such as supply shocks (e.g. crop failures), demand shocks (e.g. population growth), market distortions (e.g. taxes), speculation (e.g. hoarding), smuggling (e.g. cross-border trade), and global trends (e.g. oil prices).
Food security in Pakistan is also affected by the hoarding or stockpiling of food commodities by traders or intermediaries for speculative purposes or profiteering. This practice creates artificial shortages and increases food prices in the market. For example, in 2020-2021, the wheat crisis in Pakistan was partly caused by hoarding by flour millers who withheld wheat stocks from the market to create scarcity and hike prices. Similarly, in 2020, the sugar crisis in Pakistan was partly attributed to hoarding by sugar mill owners who delayed crushing sugarcane to reduce supply and raise prices. Hoarding harms consumers and producers who do not get fair prices for their crops.
Food security in Pakistan is also influenced by smuggling or illegal cross-border trade of food commodities with neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan or Iran. This phenomenon reduces the domestic availability and increases the prices of food items in Pakistan. For example, in 2020-2021, the wheat crisis in Pakistan was also aggravated by the smuggling of wheat flour to Afghanistan, where it fetched higher prices due to higher demand. Similarly, in 2020, the sugar crisis in Pakistan was also exacerbated by the smuggling of sugar to Afghanistan or Iran, where it sold at higher rates due to lower production or sanctions. Smuggling not only deprives the government of revenue but also undermines its efforts to stabilize food prices.
Similarly, food security in Pakistan is also determined by the country’s food production level and diversity. Pakistan produces enough food to meet its domestic requirements for major staples such as wheat or rice but relies on imports for other commodities such as pulses or edible oil. However, Pakistan’s food production is not sufficient or diversified enough to ensure adequate nutrition for its population. According to the National Nutrition Survey 2018, Pakistan has a high prevalence of malnutrition among children under five years old, with 40 per cent stunted, 18 per cent wasted, and 29 per cent underweight. Moreover, Pakistan has a low consumption of fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, eggs, and fish, which are rich sources of micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. Therefore, Pakistan needs to increase and diversify its food production to improve its food security and nutrition status.
Food security in Pakistan is also linked to the development and integration of allied sectors such as livestock, fisheries, forestry, and agro-industry. These sectors provide additional sources of food, income, and employment for the rural population and contribute to the value addition and diversification of the agricultural sector. For example, the livestock sector accounts for about 60 per cent of the agricultural value added and provides meat, milk, eggs, wool, leather, and other products. Similarly, the fisheries sector contributes about 2 per cent of the agricultural value added and provides fish, shrimp, crab, and other products. Moreover, the forestry sector provides wood, fuel, fodder, honey, medicinal plants, and other products. Furthermore, the agro-industry sector processes raw agricultural products into value-added products such as flour, sugar, oil, ghee, beverages, snacks, etc.
However, these sectors face various challenges, such as low productivity, poor quality, inadequate infrastructure, weak regulation, environmental degradation, and climate change. Therefore, Pakistan must develop and integrate these sectors to enhance its food security. Pakistan needs to develop the capacity of the food and allied departments, as the subject is devolved to the provinces. Functional food departments with consistent policies favouring the farmers and land management will ensure better food security in Pakistan.
Please, subscribe to the YouTube channel of republicpolicy.com
