Food security and agriculture revival

The situation in Pakistan is quite alarming, as prevalence of undernourishment in the total population has reached 17%

The world has been falling behind in achieving SDGs of eradicating food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition. Support policies have failed to achieve their objectives which have caused unequal distribution and created market distortions.

The above was the crux of a recent report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Food Security 2022. The report further highlighted undernourishment in the global population which increased from 8% in 2019 to 9.3% in 2020 and 9.8% in 2021. Globally, 700 to 800 million people have faced hunger in 2021. The report also stated that 20.2% of the population faced hunger in Africa compared to 9.1% in Asia, 8.6% in Latin America, 5.8% in Oceania and 2.5% in North America. Shocks like Covid-19 and the Ukraine war have further exacerbated the risk of food insecurity and malnutrition. The World Bank in its climate explainer series indicated that 345 million people may have suffered acute food insecurity in 2022 due to supply chain disruptions.

The situation in Pakistan is quite alarming, as the prevalence of undernourishment in the total population has reached 17%. The prevalence of food insecurity has reached 8.7% from 1% in 2014. In the last eight years, 17 million people have become food insecure. The above FAO figures were based on the findings of 2021. Therefore, it can be assumed that the prevalence of food insecurity in 2022 could have been multiplied several times due to the devastating floods in Pakistan. As per the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment Report of the Government of Pakistan, agriculture and livestock suffered significant damages of $3.7 billion and substantial losses of $9.2 billion. Floods have caused extensive destruction to 4.4 million acres of agricultural land and 0.8 million of livestock. The devastation of crops, livestock and aquaculture infrastructure and assets has resulted in temporary deterioration of livelihoods, employment and agriculture-related income, and has triggered food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger.

Agriculture contributes 19.2% to the GDP and employs 38.5% of the labour force. The agriculture sector output multiplier is estimated to be around 1.43. This represents the sector’s ability to multiply input of 1% into output by 1.43%. The share of private consumption expenditure for the agriculture sector is 12%, the fourth highest by any sector in private consumption expenditure. Thus, the agriculture sector has an important role to play in eradicating food insecurity, undernourishment and hunger. However, arable land per capita has decreased over the years due to agricultural land use for non-farming purposes. Productivity has declined due to obsolete practices, excessive use of pesticides, unavailability of quality seeds, and unfriendly policies on new technology.

Pakistan has the potential to adopt modern tools to enhance its agricultural output and eradicate food insecurity and malnutrition. A 1% increase in tech-based investments in agriculture can enhance sectorial output by 3% and GDP by 0.68%. Improved productivity would result in a higher food supply which may lead to a decline in domestic prices by 3%, but real wages would improve by 0.8% for unskilled labour and 1% for skilled labour. Therefore, it can be deduced with conviction that technology-driven growth in agriculture would lift millions out of poverty, improve food security and bring sustainability to society.

Globally, the agriculture sector is on the verge of a technological revolution. The use of sensors, devices, machines and IT has become a new norm. Today, drones, robots, temperature and moisture sensors, advanced gene editing and digital agriculture are conveniently used for precision and enhanced productivity. Pakistan should develop a comprehensive agriculture strategic framework with a clear vision for the next 10 years. It should provide grants and subsidies to motivate farmers to adopt technology such as laser land leveling, solar-powered high-efficiency irrigation systems, smart water grids and drones.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2022.

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