- Topsy turvy policies do not allow Pakistan to achieve food security
Pakistan loves to call itself an agricultural country, but in reality, its policies towards agriculture are anything but consistent. Despite employing nearly 40 percent of the labor force and contributing close to a fifth of GDP, the sector remains trapped in low productivity, poor access to inputs, and erratic government interventions. Food insecurity is not a result of natural calamities or lack of fertile land—it stems from confused, short-term, and politically driven decision-making. Successive governments have experimented with schemes and subsidies without building the foundations of sustainable agricultural growth. The result is chronic food inflation, recurring shortages, and growing import dependence for staples such as wheat and pulses.
Access to Finance
At the heart of Pakistan’s food insecurity lies the failure to provide institutional finance to small and subsistence farmers. Commercial banks continue to treat agriculture as a high-risk, low-return sector, lending mostly to large landlords who already have access to credit. Smallholders — who produce the bulk of food crops — remain excluded because they lack collateral and formal documentation. Microfinance institutions, though expanding, charge exorbitant interest rates that discourage investment in better seeds or equipment.
The government occasionally announces “credit targets” for agriculture, but these numbers are more cosmetic than real. Without policy compulsion, banks prefer to park funds in safer sectors or government securities.
Even the much-touted Kissan Card scheme has failed to achieve scale because bureaucratic procedures discourage participation. A serious reform would have been to establish a dedicated Agricultural Credit Guarantee Corporation — backed by state insurance — to absorb risk and allow banks to lend freely. But instead, policymakers keep rotating slogans without structural change. When farmers cannot finance their inputs, expecting food security is wishful thinking.
Certified Seeds and Pesticides
The second policy failure is the government’s inability to ensure availability of certified seeds and genuine pesticides. The seed industry remains dominated by unregistered dealers selling uncertified or outdated varieties. Research institutes that once led seed development have lost relevance due to underfunding and political appointments. The result is a dangerously low yield per acre — less than half of what countries with similar climates achieve.
Equally troubling is the proliferation of counterfeit pesticides and fertilizers. Regulatory authorities are either toothless or complicit. Farmers often end up applying substandard chemicals that damage soil fertility and reduce productivity. The absence of a transparent certification mechanism means that even genuine suppliers lose credibility. Instead of establishing provincial seed quality laboratories and enforcing strict penalties, policymakers prefer photo-op launches of “agriculture packages” that vanish after one season. Food security cannot be built on fake inputs and official complacency.
Food Grain Markets
The third glaring gap lies in the absence of well-organized, district-level food grain markets. Farmers are forced to sell produce to middlemen (arhtis) who dictate prices, exploiting both producers and consumers. Provincial food departments remain obsessed with wheat procurement drives instead of building a competitive market structure for all major crops.
Had the government established regulated district-level markets equipped with digital price displays, storage facilities, and transparent auction systems, both farmers and consumers would benefit. India, for instance, has gradually developed its Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) network that, despite flaws, provides farmers a minimum benchmark. Pakistan, in contrast, continues to rely on the same century-old mandi system. Food security is impossible when the producer is perpetually squeezed and the consumer perpetually overcharged.
Storage Infrastructure
Perhaps the most overlooked component of food security is post-harvest management. Pakistan loses an estimated 15–20 percent of its grains annually due to inadequate storage and poor handling. Traditional godowns and open-air heaps expose grains to moisture, pests, and contamination. The absence of modern silos forces the government to import wheat even when domestic production is sufficient—because half of what is grown rots before reaching the market.
Private investment in storage infrastructure remains minimal because of unclear policies and lack of incentives. The few silo projects initiated under public-private partnerships are mired in red tape. Instead of designing a coherent national plan for grain preservation, policymakers focus on firefighting—importing wheat at inflated prices while domestic farmers receive low procurement rates. It is a tragic irony that a food-producing country cannot store what it grows.
Way Forward
Food security cannot be achieved through speeches or subsidy announcements; it requires a complete policy overhaul. Pakistan must first acknowledge that agriculture is not a charity case but a strategic industry. The government should:
- Establish a State-Backed Agricultural Credit Guarantee Corporation to underwrite small-farmer loans and compel commercial banks to meet real credit quotas.
- Revamp the seed and pesticide regulatory system with independent provincial quality control labs, mandatory certification, and severe penalties for counterfeit sales.
- Create a network of district-level food grain markets run by autonomous boards to eliminate middlemen exploitation and ensure transparent pricing.
- Launch a national grain storage initiative under public-private partnership, offering fiscal incentives for silo construction and linking procurement to storage efficiency.
Unless the government abandons its topsy-turvy, reactionary approach and builds a coherent long-term agricultural policy, Pakistan will continue to drift between surplus and shortage, prosperity and panic. Food security is not a slogan — it is national security in disguise. The sooner policymakers realize this, the lesser the price future generations will pay.