Unaffordable food

Tomatoes’ prices have shot up to Rs300 per kilogram in some cities. It is a shame that in our country the common man cannot even afford fruit and vegetables. Pakistan is an agricultural country and it should not rely on importing fruit and vegetables from neighboring countries. The government does not have any clear agricultural policy and direction to increase the agricultural yield. More and more agricultural land is being encroached by housing societies in parts of the country. This has greatly reduced the cultivatable land.

The cultivatable land has been reduced from 2.9 percent of the total land in 1998 to 2.3 percent at present while population has increased immensely. The government must frame a clear policy to bring more bare land under cultivation. Effective irrigation schemes must be carried out and tube wells must be constructed to generate water for uncultivatable lands. Pakistan being an agricultural country should be an exporter of fruit and vegetables.

M Sayyad Alam Khan (Peshawar)