Food Security in Pakistan

Food security refers to the availability and accessibility of nutritious food for all segments of the population regardless of income strata. Government policy planning should cater not only to demand side interventions like increasing household incomes but also supply side interventions like the sufficient production or import of nutritious food.

Even though this article does not deal with these, climate change and consequent internal displacements are a huge part of the problem that deserve a focused attention of the policy makers at the highest levels.

One of the major factors that come into play here is poverty. Minimum wages in Pakistan have increased in the past decade but have failed to keep pace with inflation which still prevents many households, especially those relying on unskilled labour and daily wages, from purchasing the available food, making them more susceptible to the lack of food security. . More than 20% of Pakistan’s population is malnourished, and out of this 20%, 33% of children are underweight and 44% are stunted; even more still are anemic. Additionally, the number of refugees estimated at higher than a million comprise a group that is even more vulnerable.

However, the other question remains: does Pakistan produce sufficient food to meet the needs of its population? Pakistan produces maize, millets, sugarcane, oilseeds, grams, pulses, but its major food crops are wheat and rice. According to data from the Ministry of Health and UNICEF’s National Nutritional Survey (2018), Pakistan’s production of staple foods is self-sufficient, stable and secure provided essential resources like water the Mangla dam, the Tarbela dam and other water storage infrastructures are developed and maintained and fertile soil is reclaimed for agriculture. As dire as the issue of water insecurity is, it is only one of the facets of food security threat in the country.

The other facet is the lack of nutritional value of the food that is available in the market. According to Pakistan’s director of the World Food Programme, the major issue with Pakistan’s food sector was not the production, but its quality and availability. People may have access to food, but they still do not have access to food with enough nutritional value to meet their basic needs creating a situation where malnutrition is widely prevalent.

The government should prioritize the health of its population. This means introduction of policies that incentivize production growth in agriculture including those relating to efficient use of water and fertile soil, encourage the wide scale adoption of modern methods and best practices, and subsidizing healthy food options for the lowest income groups. The other side of the coin is the introduction of consumer protection laws that support that discourage the sale of non-nutritional food substitutes that adversely impact the health of households that are unaffected by the inflation factor.

Lastly, the governance should introduce awareness campaigns that counter the impact of relentless advertising by largest stakeholders in the processed food industry, and equipping households with the information necessary to prevent nutritional deficiencies from occurring. This in the information age can only be done through well-thought out edutainment campaigns that enable people to make informed, healthier choices.