Pakistan's Rising Food Imports Signal Farm Policy Failure

The surge to over $7bn in food imports within nine months of the present fiscal year is difficult to explain for a country endowed with vast arable land, diverse climate and a large workforce.

That this increase is driven by items such as sugar, edible oil and pulses makes it even more troubling. These are staples that Pakistan should, with the right policies, be producing in sufficient quantities domestically, the article points out.

"For a low-income country grappling with external financing constraints, Pakistan's rising food imports are a major drain on its meagre foreign exchange reserves. Continuing on the current path is untenable. A country that cannot sustainably feed itself risks undermining both its economic sovereignty and social stability," the article states.

It highlights that Pakistan's growing reliance in food imports is self-inflicted. For decades, the country's agricultural strategy has revolved narrowly around major crops, including wheat, cotton, sugarcane and maize.

While these crops are important, the policy bias in their favour through subsidies, support prices and water allocation has pushed farmers away from other critical areas such as oilseeds, pulses and high-value crops.

Equally worrisome is the decline in food exports, underscoring not just external market pressures but also stagnation in productivity, quality and value addition.

If current trends persist, the food import bill is unlikely to stabilise, let alone decline. Climate change pressures, rapid population growth and persistence of global price volatility will worsen the country's vulnerability, the article further states.

It underlines that there is a drastic need for the country to go for a policy reset to correct course in the agriculture sector and diversify into other crops such as rice, oilseeds and pulses in order to ensure food security and export competitiveness.

- IANS