Need to counter the effect of afflation.

Byline: SADAF QUDDUS

Agriculture plays a crucial role in the economies of least developing countries (LDC) like Pakistan. Pakistan's economy is fundamentally based on agriculture. The agriculture sector in Pakistan contributes 21 per cent of the GDP, with yearly growth of 2.7 per cent. Whereas 44 per cent of the labour force can find employment in the agricultural sector and this industry provides a living for 62 per cent of the rural population. A significant area where our ways of living and commercial innovation intersect is agriculture. It plays a variety of roles in the economy of any country, including those related to food security, the fight against poverty, the industrial revolution and economic expansion, particularly in developing nations.

With a total area of 796,095 km2, Pakistan has around 22 million km2 of cultivated land and 8.3 million km2 of uncultivated land. Pakistan is endowed with natural resources and spans a variety of climatic and ecological zones. Water and fertile land make up the majority of Pakistan's natural resources. Federal Bureau of Statistics estimates that this industry supports 75 per cent of the nation's population, employs 42.3 per cent of the labour force (36.2% men, 74.5% women), and generates a sizable portion of foreign exchange revenues.

The food and agriculture crops, horticulture and orchards, livestock and dairy, fisheries, and forestry are the four primary subsectors of Pakistan's agriculture industry. Because of the high yielding and fertilizer-responsive crops, as well as the development of the land base and irrigation water supply, the sector's output has increased from the 1960s to the late 1980s, but little not more has been done to add value and prevent post-harvest losses.

Since 1990, farmers have planted more land in horticulture, orchards, oilseeds, and food crops. The region's increasing food crop yields, however, which can be attributed to the use of pesticides and fertilizer, are still far lower than yields in developed nations.

Value addition system

For a variety of reasons, including low investment in Research and Development (RandD), the creation or dissemination of higher production packages, the maintenance of an efficient agricultural education and extension system, and the upkeep of physical infrastructure, technical change and value addition have been slow to come about. Resource deterioration, governmental sector domination in agricultural commerce, and price controls all contribute to problems.

About 23.4 million of Pakistan's 34.5 million hectares of fertile land are under cultivation. A few very large holdings and a lot of small, owner-operated farms make up the majority of the farm size distribution. There isn't much investment made in land development, farm buildings, or machinery because the majority of farms have less land than the economic landholding size of 5 hectares. Inefficient land markets and investment are discouraged by the outdated land titling system.

Effects of food price inflation

Pakistan, a developing nation, likewise struggles with rising food prices. The task of regulating food item pricing is more...