Boosting agri-sector

Pakistan, despite being an agrarian economy, is often at the edges of food insecurity. It has neither been able to optimise its yield per acre, nor ensure measures to retain self-sufficiency. The reasons for these deficiencies are rooted in our erstwhile ad-hoc planning and lack of a sustainable strategy. This is why the country has become a prime importer of food grains and other auxiliaries. Food deficiency, malnutrition and a nose-diving economy are issues that have pushed the country at the brink, and something serious needs to be done to ensure two square meals to 240 million mouths.

The civil-military initiative to create a forum called Land Information and Management System — Centre of Excellence (LIMS-COE), is a first-ever institutional approach to address constraints of food self-reliance, and endeavour to cut down on imports. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, while kick-starting the project, were rightly hopeful that it will go a long way in transforming unproductive acres, ensure food security, boost agricultural exports, and lessen the load on the national economy by substituting imports. What is needed is a technological approach to increase productivity and galvanise it on modern genetic modules.

India and China are way ahead in per acre production, and almost five times more than our produce, which is toiling national exchequer. While food production is inadvertently related with water supply, thus quadrupling of sowing seeds by making it a four-season affair should be introduced. Similarly, agro-production can be diversified by doing away with traditional crop cultivation style, and more focus should fall on fruits and dry fruits, making it an instant mark of our valued prime exports. With 36.9% of Pakistanis falling in the critical sphere of food deficiency, the survival and retention of our economy is unimaginable. Enhancing growth and developing agriculture-cum-industrial avenues are a must.