Despite a significant proportion of Pakistani labor force still working in agriculture, the sector is poorly organized and inefficient and is now increasingly threatened by climate change. To better fight with various challenges facing our agricultural sector, it is necessary to rethink the topdown process of agricultural development which continues to bypass poor and landless farmers.
There is a colonial legacy that continues to haunt the agricultural sector. in Pakistan, but this pernicious legacy has been further perpetuated post- colonial governments within the country. The British established canal colonies by making large investments. in irrigation systems, but this was primarily intended to increase exports of cash harvest like cotton for textile factories in Manchester. Instead of of asking small landowners and landless farmers cultivated the newly irrigated lands, the British relied on farmers-owners to increase productivity in agriculture. Channel colonies also allocated large agricultural land for in the military setting a precedent of military farms and provision of agricultural land to retired officers.
Large cultivated land in rural areas of Pakistan is still owned by very small amount of families, while most of farmers own very little or no land. While those with sufficient resources can lease land for cultivation, poorer farmers must either work as sharecroppers, seasonal workers or day laborers.
Despite the urgency need use the potential of poor farmers, agricultural policy in Pakistan was dominated by the topdown priorities. While the so-called “Green Revolution” in The 1950s and 1960s increased agricultural productivity, primarily dependent on on increased use of pesticides and fertilizers; and mechanization. In addition to the environmental impact of chemical farming promotion of mechanization was displacing labor strategy which caused many poor farmers and sharecroppers to be expelled off agricultural land and urban slums.
Fixed clipping patterns, confidence on few staple crops, narrow genetic pools, poor seed quality, and inefficient water management practices are often cited as major problems that continue to reduce agricultural productivity in Pakistan today. Although he is a major producer of wheat, rice, sugarcane and cotton, rural areas throughout the country remain poor and food insecurity on the rise problem for the country as a whole.
Large and medium farmers in country continues to in wasteful methods such as flood irrigation for growing crops like riceand recklessly drained underground aquifers using crop watering pumps. Such inefficient water use practitioners have paved vast areas of the land is unsuitable for cultivation due to waterlogging and salinization.
Urgent action is needed to improve agricultural production practices throughout the country. As the climate change crisis accelerates, we will continue to watch more floods, droughts and growing water scarcity. There is no single technological fix to the diverse threats posed by natural disasters caused by climate change. Instead, adaptation will require striving of a range of strategies. Some of these strategies will need be accepted over a short term, while others will need a longer gestation period.
In a longer term, Pakistan must switch grow better crops, and heat and drought-tolerant crops specifically suited to the various agro-ecological zones of the country. in more instant term However, using agricultural practices such as terracing can help improve soil health and make the most of water. Technological methods such as laser land leveling can also turn on more effective water use and solar powerirrigation systems help decrease air pollution and emissions. However, acceptance of such measures should not bypassing poor farmers as this will exacerbate inequalities in rural areas, and cause further depeasantization and corresponding pressure on already burgeoning urban centers.
It is vital to prevent the elite capture and make agricultural policy in Pakistan more progressive and accessible. In addition to ensuring that landless agricultural workers receive fairer wages, need develop subsidy schemes and other incentives to on engaging smallholder farmers actively in Agriculture more productive, sustainable and sustainable.
Published in Express Tribune, 15 April.th2022.
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