Policy is a powerful instrument for directing development. But, at least not in Pakistan. The country is still lacking "agriculture policy document" at federal and provincial levels, despite that the agriculture sector is the backbone of the country's economy since independence. The sector has the largest base of employment of around 60 percent of the total workforce. Its share in GDP stands at 21 percent. And its share in total exports comes to around 75 percent, as growers claim textile as a value added product of the agronomy.
Experts view availability of the policy documents may help the sector to grow at a faster pace, increase its share in the economy, and help narrow down the widening trade deficit, or turnaround the trade balance into a surplus.
Syed Mehmood Nawaz Shah, vice president of Sindh Abadgar Board, said the 18th amendment has empowered provincial governments to develop their own agriculture polices. However, no such discussion has been initiated in and out of the parliament to date.
Foreign donors have also demanded the government formulation of an agriculture policy document. Canadian high commissioner offered the federal government to assist it in developing the policy document about a year ago, but Islamabad has yet to initiate the process.
Dr. Abid Qayyum Suleri, executive director at Sustainable Development Police Institute (SDPI), said the federal ministry of national food security and research is developing a "food security policy".
The prime objective of the food security policy in the making is to ensure the availability of foods. However, it does not directly deal with the issues related to pre-cultivation, cultivation, harvesting, and post-harvesting.
Non-existence of the policy documents has left growers at no one’s' mercy. They are doing all alone and in isolation. Accordingly, they sometimes grow good crops and sometimes harvest worst. But in any case, they get lower margins than the middlemen, who are reportedly making robust profits.
This year, growers are giving good news of having produced bumper crops of wheat, rice, cotton, and sugarcane – the four out of five major crops in Pakistan. But, at least four crops are currently facing issue of pricing between farmers and concerned mill-owners, and also having issues at export and import level.
The country is estimated to produce 64.74 million tonnes of sugarcane this year. It will help the sugar mill-owners to manufacturer 5.7 million tonnes of sugar against 5.5 million tonnes last year. However, mill-owners are not ready to pay the fixed minimum purchase price of Rs180-182/ 40 kg. They are demanding to revise it down to Rs150/40 kg, or give subsidy on the sweetener export to remain in profit. On the contrary, growers have calculated cost of production of the cane at Rs220/40 kg in Sindh.
Similarly, the country is estimated to produce 6.72 million tonnes of rice this year. Millers and traders are allegedly delaying buying to pressurize growers to sell paddy – raw rice – at throwaway prices. The price of paddy has already slumped by 40 percent to Rs1,500-1,600/40 kg from Rs2,500-2,600/kg last year.
Thirdly, the growers are estimating to produce over 14 million bales (of 155 kilogram) of cotton this year. However, its prices are hovering at last-week's three-year low around Rs5,100 per maund.
Lastly, the country has produced 25.29 million tonnes of wheat. Traders said the production was insufficient for meeting local demand and that's why they placed order for import of around 700,000 tonnes wheat from Ukraine. As of today, experts are saying the imports have made the availably of wheat in surplus and the governments may carry forward 500,000 tonnes to one-million ton of wheat next year.
Experts have also raised alarmed bell of facing severe issues in production of citrus fruits, banana and mango crops due to attacks of different diseases. "If we do not immediately initiate research and development in fruit farming then the crops of kinno and banana would badly be damaged in the next three-four years. And export of such fruits would also decline drastically," said Waheed Ahmed, patron in-chief of All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association.
Such issues might have not been so bigger if the governments had a policy documents for guiding stakeholders of agriculture sector. While some of them linked the prevailing issues in Pakistan with world economic orders. The prices of such major crops have declined significantly at world markets after leading economies announced higher productions of similar crops. On the contrary, consumption remains stagnant. For example, price of cotton is hovering at its recent days' five-year low of below 60 cents per pound at the world benchmark cotton market, New York. The price is sticking on low side since China - the world biggest consumer of cotton - is making a very little buying due to having higher reserves of it at its homeland.image]
Similarly, traders are reporting decline in prices of rice and sugar at world markets. On the other hand, the prices at world markets are higher than cost of productions in the country. That's why export of the two notable items remains low these days.
The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is trying to remedies the situation by taking popular decisions like procuring one-million cotton bales (of 170 kg each) at exorbitant prices. The objective of the procurement is to keep price stable at local markets. However, the government has yet to achieve its objective though it has signed contract to buy over 400,000 bales to date. Experts said the procurement would cost the government at around Rs30 billion, while it has to wait for years to dispose-off the bales at purchasing price.
Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan and Basmati Growers Association have warned the government that it should not procure rice to compensate growers at this time when price of paddy and rice are declining. Instead, they demanded direct subsidy to farmers through providing subsidized seeds, fertilizer, diesel, electricity, water and other input means.
Suleri of SDPI said the provincial governments should form agriculture policy documents in way that they make functional the existing research and policy institutes in the sector, link growers with such institutes and universities, provide guidelines for development of new seeds to take higher yield of crops from per acre of land, and find ways for providing cheaper seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and other input means.
He emphasized the governments to divide their agriculture lands into two zones - rainy and arid zones – and formulate policies according to climate conditions for respective zones. The policies should also address issues of storing crops. "The document may suggest developing storage systems in public-private partnership, which at the same time should be available to farmers as well."
Pakistan agricultural sector could become a $100 brillion industry if governments and the private sector radically rethink policies and support for farmers and allied industry.
Pakistan’s food market, currently valued at $10 billion/year, could double if farmers modernized their practices and had better access to credit, new technology, irrigation and fertilizers. Pakistani growers have a unique opportunity to tap into growing demand from a burgeoning middle class in the region with more expensive tastes, an expected two-fold increase in urban supermarkets in the region and higher commodities prices.
Experts said Pakistan is now at a crossroads, from which it can take concrete steps to realize its potential or continue to lose competitiveness, missing a major opportunity for increased growth, employment, and food security. Boosting agriculture should become the top priority of governments so that farmers can take advantage of the increase in global demand for food and higher prices.
Source : http://magazine.thenews.com.pk/mag/moneymatter_detail.asp?id=9567&magId=10&catId=78
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