Pakistan's Agriculture

Economic structures tend to change over time with manufacturing and services replacing agriculture and mining as the main engine of growth. But the persistence of robust and increasingly insatiable global demand for food and raw materials has highlighted the importance of agricultural and natural-resource-rich economies. In this situation, agriculture sector development can offer countries like Pakistan unique opportunities for economic diversification.

This must involve focus on two key issues:

1. Productivity enhancement

2. Promotion of value-addition.

Productivity enhancement is driven by consistent improvements in farming practices, quality of inputs, outreach of extension services, adoption of latest research and post-harvest innovation.

Value-addition needs systematic approach in disseminating demand information, supporting startups through a network of agri-business support services and mobilizing investors in an overall enabling business environment.

Agriculture sector development is not only a key to high long-term growth for a country like Pakistan but it also has social and political significance. This sector has crucial importance for tackling growing food insecurity and its potential to unleash social and political unrest.

Thanks to the advances in agriculture research and technology especially concerning high yield seed varieties, solutions are available to address food insecurity. New knowledge in the field of agriculture also offers countless opportunities for investment, value-addition and job creation within the sector and beyond. However it requires a target-oriented strategic approach that ensures greater involvement of private sector in the development of this sector.

The message for government is that instead of wading in with unnecessary interventions it should create enabling policy, regulatory and institutional environment while removing inefficient and uncompetitive practices in this sector.

The overriding presence of public sector in agriculture needs to be rolled-back in favour of private sector which has made impressive inroads in developing the country’s limited but promising agro-business. Public sector role should be limited to tackling the growth and competitiveness challenge through timely policy response that enables private sector to take part in farming, value-addition and export of agriculture produce.

This is the broader backdrop for the paper; it aims to understand and highlight the challenge of agriculture development in Pakistan from the perspective of untapped potential for productivity and value addition as well as the range of binding constraint that require timely policy response.