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.

More than 42% of Pakistan’s population is directly dependent on income from agriculture, whereas industries are also heavily reliant on agriculture for indigenously produced raw material. At present, 27% of the total area of Pakistan is used for crop cultivation out of which 80% of this area is irrigated land.

The 27% of land dedicated to agriculture is further divided into “zones”, with each zone being utilized for a different agricultural purpose (cotton growing zone, sugarcane growing zone etc.)

The agricultural zones of Pakistan can be divided into the following;

1. Indus delta – sugarcane, rice, pulses
2. Southern irrigation plain – rice, wheat
3. Sandy desert – wheat, caster, millet, guar
4. Northern irrigation plain – cotton, maize, sugarcane, wheat
5. Barani lands – maize, wheat, gram, lentils, millets, sorghum
6. Wet mountains – maize, rice, wheat
7. Northern dry mountains – fodders, maize, wheat
8. Western dry mountains – fodders, maize, wheat
9. Dry western plateau – wheat, maize, sorghum, millet
10. Sulaiman piedmont – wheat, gram, millet

The zoning has been done according to the traditional use that the land has been successfully put to as crops grown in each zone depend on the characteristics of the zone including climatic conditions, the type of soil, the fertility of the soil, the water sources etc.

This is extremely important to the productivity of the agricultural sector because while the crop yield of a farm depends on how well sowing, cultivation, and harvest are managed, favourable environmental conditions can propel farming activity towards high productivity.

For farmers, while it is important to rely on research and to experiment with the various uses that the land can be put to, an awareness of the best growing conditions for each crop being cultivated, in order to get a higher output at harvest time is also crucial. It also discourages unnecessary experimentation that can lead to failure and create competitive market conditions for farming businesses to thrive in.

For government policy-makers, it is important to invest in geospatial mapping to ensure that fertile land is not wasted through non-agricultural uses like construction, dumping garbage, or industries. In the same way industrial sites that require a specific set of conditions (nearness to water sources, raw material etc.) should be constructed on land that is primarily not fit for agricultural use. It is vital for the sustainability of a country having and agro-based economy.

Pakistan’s agricultural sector is the main source of food production for the whole of the population, making it necessary that the government implements strict policies that ensure unstinted food supply for the people. The sector is based on major crops, such as wheat, cotton, sugarcane, rice, millets etc. Each of these crops has specific requirements. Through introduction of agricultural zoning, the government can ensure the availability of necessary inputs that support the growth of particular crops in the zones that these crops are grown, resulting in efficient planning and utilization of scarce government resources.

This would also support decision-making for farmers at the micro-level and create an enabling environment for agricultural activity to flourish. Farmers and land owners should be made aware of their land’s potential so that they can use it to obtain the best possible results.

To make matters worse, the country ranks fourth in the world in terms of high water usage, especially due to the fact that its economy is agro-based. Pakistan’s population is more than 6 times than what it was after partition in 1947, which means the demand for water has also increased. And while 95% of the water sources are used for the agricultural sectors, but the food production is still lower than that of many other agro-based countries, including the neighbouring India.

Pakistan’s water sources are finite, and on the way to being completely exhausted. The vast majority of the country (including the industrial sectors, the domestic sectors, and individual persons) depends on the Indus River, which is quickly running dry.

While the country has the world’s largest canal irrigation system, that system has several, operational and management, problems which lead to water wastage. For instance, 90% of the country’s agriculture depends on irrigation and groundwater but outdated irrigation methods being used in the agricultural sector have led to a large-scale waste of fresh water.

The severity of this issue is evident by the fact that both the Tarbela and Mangla dams have approached “dead storage levels” not once, but several times over the past 3 years. Additionally, both dams are losing storage capacity due to silt deposition. According to The Pakistan Development Review, 70% of Pakistan’s land has become semi-arid or arid. In 2018, snowfall was 50% less than its overall average over the past years

All this is evidence that Pakistan is in danger of water scarcity, which portends high concerns for the agricultural sector.

In order to solve this issue, it is necessary to understand the root-causes. A recent report by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, has listed the following causes: the increasing population, high water consumption, low water productivity, water wastage, unattended water, low water prices, climate change, and the misuse and overuse of water in the agricultural, domestic, and industrial sectors.

To counteract the harmful impact certain policies need to be instituted on an emergency footing:

• Collecting and maintaining reliable data and information regarding water sources
• Investing in water filtration plants
• Introducing financial mechanisms for the protection of water resources
• Subsidizing the use of technology for conservation without compromising on productivity
• Eradicating the use of harmful pesticides/insecticides that require a lot of water to be washed away and introducing the use of biodegradable environment friendly fertilizers.
• Spreading awareness regarding the importance, exploitation and conservation of water resources and strict implementation of national water saving policies
• Investing in the construction of small dams across the country
• Strictly implementing policies to deter deforestation

And finally,

• Increasing family planning awareness and interventions to counter high birth rates, especially in rural areas