Taking farmers seriously

The agriculture growth rate has declined from 5 to 2 per cent because of the negligence of the present government.

The PML-N has a particularly unenviable record with Pakistan’s farmers. Historically, the growth rate for the agriculture sector has been slowest under PML-N governments. Judging by the statistics submitted by the federal government to the Senate committee on food security, the party’s current stint in office is not off to a great start either. Growth in the agriculture sector declined sharply to two per cent in fiscal 2014, compared to five per cent in the previous year. And given the hints about the direction the government will be taking in next year’s budget, it does not seem that life is about to get any easier for farmers.



Perhaps it should not be surprising that a party that derives its support primarily from urban and suburban voters does not seem to care for the rural economy. But we would argue that they ignore rural Pakistan at their own peril. Because the economy is essentially one long, intricately linked supply chain that starts in farms and grazing grounds and ends in the urban restaurants and shopping malls. The prices that urban consumers pay for what they buy is directly linked to the prosperity of farmers in the rural areas. It may not be a linkage that most voters are aware of, but they will certainly feel its effects if prices start to rise too fast, and they will punish the politicians who happen to be in office at the time.

Simply put, the more the government supports the agriculture sector — either through improving the rural infrastructure or through ensuring that farmers get fair prices for their goods — translates into more money for farmers, who constitute about 45 per cent of the country’s population. That extra money gets spent in two ways, both of them very good for the economy. The first is consumption: which spurs industrial production, benefiting urban factory workers as well as industrialists. And the second is investment in better productivity, which leads to better efficiency and more stable prices for goods. That, too, is something that would benefit urban consumers in the long run. In short, even if the PML-N wants to continue courting the urban vote, it cannot afford to ignore the needs of rural Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2014.

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