STAKEHOLDERS in the agriculture sector, especially the fertilizer industry, deserve credit for highlighting the role of the farming community and the problems being faced by them through a coordinated campaign leading up to observance of ‘Salam Kisan’ Day (salute or tributes to farmers) on December 18. A variety of activities were held throughout the country besides an intensive social media campaign aimed at appreciating and acknowledging farmers of Pakistan for their invaluable contribution to the national economy and drawing attention of the policy and decision-making circles towards their plight and the need to resolve their problems on a priority basis.
Food being the basic necessity of life, no one can dispute the vital importance of farmers who have the responsibility to feed the ever-increasing population. In Pakistan, the agriculture sector contributes 19.2 percent to the GDP and provides employment to around 38.5 percent of the labour force. More than 65-70 percent of the population, living in rural areas, depends on agriculture for its livelihood. The country has the potential to increase agricultural production significantly to not only achieve the cherished objective of food security but also earn huge foreign exchange through exports. No doubt, successive governments have been striving to improve things in the sector and the farmers too worked hard to produce more but agricultural growth rate has been constrained by shrinking arable land, climate change, water shortage and large-scale population and labour shift from rural to urban areas. This is despite the fact that proper investment and reforms in the agriculture sector offer a sure shot way to progress and prosperity. Apart from other challenges, the sector also faces risks due to incessant rains, floods and droughts and this aspect is highlighted by the fact that last year’s floods inflicted losses worth 30.13 billion dollars to the national economy, of which losses worth $12.9 billion were incurred by the agriculture sector. There is, therefore, dire need to provide liberal incentives to compensate farmers to help bring the sector back on track. It is appreciable that the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) is also focusing on development of the agriculture sector by ways of promoting corporate farming. However, a comprehensive and well-coordinated policy should be evolved and implemented to take care of the problems of the small farmers including provision of fertilizers and other inputs at affordable costs. As the farming community is living in rural areas, farmer-specific planning should be done and initiatives launched for all-round development of these areas.
