Pakistan facing chronic food insecurity: business forum

Says better governance, corruption control will help improve food security

LAHORE: A forum of businessmen has underscored the need for improving food security by achieving stable economic growth as Pakistan is facing chronic food insecurity due to insufficient agricultural production, political instability and corruption.

“Lack of purchasing power and access to adequate food supply for many of the poor people is the key reason for the country’s low level of food security,” All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) President Ibrahim Qureshi said in a statement while quoting a report of the Asian Development Bank.



He suggested that the government must undertake deep reforms and improve governance to unleash the country’s growth potential.

“Without a substantial improvement in governance and reduction in corruption, decent economic growth is hard to anticipate, and hunger and malnutrition will continue to prevail because of poor distribution of resources and lower purchasing power of the poor,” he said.

He stressed that better governance and elimination of corruption would help improve the level of food security, besides bringing stable economic growth.

Qureshi emphasised the urgent need for investment in agricultural infrastructure and research and development work in order to improve farm productivity and better cope with natural disasters.

A shortfall in investment has led to limited innovation in the agricultural sector. Antiquated farming methods and inefficient use of resources have contributed to poor productivity.

“Two-thirds of the country’s population and 80% of the poor live in rural areas. Lack of development in agricultural infrastructure and advancement in farming methods has made agricultural production difficult and inefficient, aggravating poverty in rural areas,” he said.



The APBF chief also called for making efforts to reduce and avoid environmental pollution and consume resources sustainably. Population control should also be on the agenda of the government and society.

Environmental pollution and degradation pose additional challenges to the country in terms of food security. Major environmental issues include water pollution from raw sewage, industrial waste and agricultural run-off; rising deforestation; soil erosion and desertification.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2017.

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