Looming food insecurity

From our standards, Pakistan is moving fast towards becoming a food-insecure nation while by international standards Pakistan is already reeling from food insecurity. The reason for this is that locally, the standard is measured through the amount of wheat we produce while international organisations look at the overall nutritional content of the average person.

Both situations are extremely alarming as malnourishment is extremely rampant and the deficit in wheat production is being covered through expensive imports, taking a toll on the exchequer. While climate change has played an immense role in exacerbating the food crisis, not just in Pakistan but across the world, poor planning and decisionmaking has long deteriorated the agriculture sector and encouraged inequitable division of food resources.

There are numerous studies on food and nutrition that prove the fact that the lower echelons of society are most malnourished, particularly children. Climate change will make this problem even harder to solve by leaving our lands barren and temperature unsuitable for the growth of staple food sources. Forcing to move towards food imports has stuffed a few pockets but at the expense of millions of affected people.

The vulnerable population has further ballooned due to sky-rocketing inflation as even the middle-class is finding it difficult to put food on the table. Hunger and food scarcity will lead to a host of other social problems if not mitigated in a systematic manner.

The situation requires immediate action from authorities who need to find suitable and sustainable alternatives to meet food demands. The only way to do this is by investing heavily in the agriculture sector and exploring new avenues. Local farmers must be empowered and middle-men regulated to keep prices low. It is also about time to dismantle the feudal system that has caused much misery