Autarky or annihilation

PM Imran Khan stresses the need to focus on farmers and enhancing their incomes

When the British first arrived in the Mughal-ruled subcontinent, the biggest attraction for them was how the areas east of River Indus were fertile enough to not only feed the population of united India but food along with other exports helped power the development of the west. Today, however, farmers in this proverbial breadbasket of the world are staring at extinction.

In a recent address, Prime Minister Imran Khan stressed the need to focus on farmers – the basic unit of Pakistan’s agrarian economy - and enhancing their incomes. He also launched the Kisan Card, introduced by the provincial government to ensure the provision of subsidies. The Prime Minister pointed out how, despite being an agrarian economy, we have to import grains and even our top product – cotton.

Pakistan is in a uniquely paradoxical position. Agriculture is by far the only sector employing the most number of people in the country. It is what a majority of the country’s decisions have been based on, from priority construction of power grids to roads, water channels and even industries apart from providing massive subsidies. However, insufficient technological development and lack of focus on the agri sector meant that its contribution to the overall economic mix of the country has shrunk massively, contributing less than 10% of the GDP. Subsistence farming is no longer sustaining us.

As a result, the country has seen massive rural-urban migration in recent decades. This, in turn, has increased pressures on urban centres with a spike in demand for accommodation. To meet this demand, the Prime Minister has championed a focus on housing and construction and hoped it would spur economic growth in the country. Ironically, private builders have targeted ‘cheap’ agricultural land to build their affordable and palatial housing schemes – the land vacated by desperate landowners and farmers. 

Prime Minister Imran’s comments are a breath of fresh air. However, without a comprehensive plan – involving policies on supporting small farmers and carrying out drastic land reforms while introducing major technological advancements to improve yields – these will be just another set of well-meaning ideas rotting on cobwebbed shelves of good intentions.