Record crops likely to reduce food imports in 2022

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to harvest bumper crops of key commodities in the current season, a prospect likely to cool down the country's recent rampant appetite for food imports heading into 2022, a minister said on Thursday.

"This year has been remarkable for agriculture sector of Pakistan, and our economy got a boost with the record agricultural production, indicating a lesser reliance on food imports in 2021-22," Syed Fakhar Imam, minister of National Food Security and Research told the meeting of the Islamic Organization of Food Security (IOFS) held virtually in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

The minister said the production of wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, potato, onion and groundnut increased to a record level despite Covid pandemic.

“... the exports of agro-based commodities have also increased significantly, including mango by 28.6 percent, citrus 31.25 percent and potatoes 28 percent,” the minister added.

Since 2020, the country has been tapping the international market for sugar, wheat and cotton cargoes to meet domestic demands. Dozens of cargoes carrying wheat and sugar have already reached the country.

Imam said the country faces many challenges in building sustainable food systems such as water scarcity, lack of quality seed, cold storage facilities, farm mechanisation, trained manpower, post-harvest management, processing industries, and digital agriculture platforms.

The minister said the government had launched the Agriculture Emergency Programme to uplift the agriculture sector and build an efficient food system and to enhance the productivity of wheat, rice, sugarcane, pulses, and oilseed crops; besides development of livestock and water sectors.

Under this programme, the government was supporting farmers by furnishing quality seed of improved varieties, providing farm machinery at subsidised rates, and disseminating improved production packages, he added.

“This initiative is improving the socio-economic status of our farmers and leading the country towards sustainable development of the agriculture sector through technological innovation.”

The minister said the OIC forum is aimed to serve as a platform for member countries to share best practices in the areas of food systems governance, promotion of agricultural development, and to assist governments in developing pathways for sustainable food systems in the region.

“It provides us the opportunities to share the scientific information and expertise, essential to eradicate poverty and ensure food security.” The meeting was attended by the 36 member states of Islamic Organization for Food Security, 20 other OIC member states, and five OIC observer countries.