FOOD INSECURITY

As humans, food is one of our basic needs for survival and growth. Access to
adequate food is considered a basic right of every human around the globe,
regardless of their country, race, language or religion. It is a universally
accepted fact that good food is most important for a human to survive.
Food Insecurity is generally defined as unavailability of food in amounts that
are necessary for living a healthy life. It seems to be quite an obvious term but
in reality, it is quite elaborate with certain dimensions. The United States
Department of Agriculture USDA briefly defines food insecurity as a state in
which “consistent access to adequate food is limited by lack of money and
other resources at times during the year.” Food insecurity exists when people
lack sustainable physical or economic access to enough safe, nutritious, and
socially acceptable food for a healthy and satisfactory lifestyle.
Often Food insecurity is mistaken as a synonym to hunger and considered as
interchangeable. In fact, these terms are quite distinct concepts. Hunger is
generally an individual situation whereas Food insecurity is rather a household
condition or a nation wide phenomenon which happens due to various
multidimensional factors.

CAUSES OF FOOD INSECURITY

There are multiple reasons that lead to Food insecurity. Most common
reasons are mentioned below:
1. Extreme weather conditions:
Due to extreme weather conditions such as snowfall, droughts and blizzards
it is quite impossible to grow enough food for the entire population, hence
food insecurity is quite prevalent in such countries.
2. Agricultural problems, pest and other plant diseases:
Due to pest attacks and outbreak of plant diseases, already grown crops that
are ready to be harvested are at grave risk of getting spoiled. Hence, the total
agricultural produce of a country is lost and the need for a country's food
supply isn’t met which leads to inadequate access of food to all people that
inhibit that country.
3. Climatic changes:
Global warming is a global dilemma. With passing time, drastic climatic
changes have been visible across the globe. Duration of summers and
winters have changed hence, the plantation of crops and the harvesting
periods have changed. As a consequence, the agricultural produce is reduced
causing in access to sufficient amount of food.
4. Corruption and political instability:
Corruption is a nation wide curse. Due to corruption and political
malpractices, even if a country is able to produce enough food, it is either
unjustly distributed or the increasing inflation and unjust prices make it
impossible for many groups to have access to sufficient amounts of food that
are necessary for living a healthy life.
5. Military conflicts and wars:
Due to wars and national or international political conflicts, agriculture, food
manufacturing, food export, import and distribution are severely affected.
Therefore, access to food is affected. Sometimes when the conflicts are left
unresolved for a longer duration, the country faces terrible food insecurity
due to which a nation suffers immensely.
6. Rapid population growth:
Before estimating a country’s food produce for a year, its important to
determine the country’s population first hand. If a population growth rate
increases abruptly, the produce isn’t enough to meet the needs of the bigger
population which leads to unjust distribution of food and high prices hence
results in food security.
7. Gender Biases in households:
In households, food insecurity is also a consequence of gender differences.
Often, male child and male the head of a household is highly regarded and
its assumed that best and greater amount of food should be provided to them
as their role is greater in a family hence their needs are greater and should be
regarded first. Therefore, female child doesn’t get the fair share of food.
8. Lack of access to farming land:
 Land is needed to produce food and generate income. But many people
simply do not have the resources or opportunity to own land. Land
ownership can strengthen cultural identity and empower people by bringing
participation in decision-making. Land grabbing occurs when land that has
been traditionally farmed by families is taken by large business investors,
who may acquire the land to grow food for export or extract natural
resources. Often disguised as a way to foster economic development, land
grabbing deprives local communities of the resources they need to survive,
causing poverty and social instability.
9. Land 'grabbing':
Land grabbing occurs when land that has been traditionally farmed by
families is taken by large business investors, who may acquire the land to
grow food for export or extract natural resources. Often disguised as a way
to foster economic development, land grabbing deprives local communities
of the resources they need to survive, causing poverty and social instability.

FOOD INSECURITY IN PAKISTAN

Pakistan is a Developing country which is struggling with various issues and

food insecurity is one of them. Food security in Pakistan has been under
constant threat during the last decade, a period coinciding with a global food
crisis that peaked in 2008. That year, when world food prices reached their
highest levels since the 1970s, Pakistan’s food inflation registered as high as
34 percent. Weather, resource shortages, and conflict are further
accelerating food insecurity in Pakistan.

CAUSES OF FOOD INSECURITY IN PAKISTAN

1. High Costs of Fertilizers During Global Food Crisis:

During the height of the Global Food crisis in 2008, food suppliers in
Pakistan struggled as much as consumers. Farmers were left reeling by sky-
high fertilizer costs; the price of DAP (one of the most coveted high-yield
 fertilizer brands) increased by 150-300 percent in Pakistan, despite being
heavily subsidized by the government. Grain farmers were left with the
unenviable choice of either reducing their use of DAP or switching to less
profitable vegetable crops that required less fertilizer.

2. Failure of Implication of Food Policies:

Pakistan never had any national food policy except launching a few food
security programs at the regional levels [Mittal and Sethi (2009)] It is
generally believed that there are two major policy failures that lead to
uncertainty in food security and increase in poverty in Pakistan:
 Hasty withdrawal of state from the agriculture sector under the structural
adjustment programs.
 Paying no attention to setting up essential institutional infrastructure to
exploit farm-nonfarm sectors.

3. Water Shortage:
Pakistan is burdened by devastating water shortages. The country’s per capita
water availability ranks among Asia’s lowest, and is lower than that of many
African nations. At least 90 percent of Pakistan’s dwindling water supplies are
allocated to agriculture, yet inefficient irrigation and poor drainage have
produced epidemics of waterlogging and soil salinity across the countryside.
4. Weather Changes & Energy Crisis :
Farmers and government authorities blamed drought-like conditions for
reduced crop yields in late 2009 and early 2010; Meanwhile,. As a result,
“vast expanses” of farmland fail to produce successful harvests.
Additionally, Pakistan is suffering through a chronic energy crisis with
frequent electricity outages; these power failures undermine the effectiveness
of energy-dependent agricultural technologies.

5. Differences in Rural Areas:

In rural Pakistan the economic access to food is mainly influenced by
household level differences in land holding, education and employment.
Decreasing size of land holdings besides inability of the economy to
generate new employment limits productivity growth and rise in farm
 incomes. Even though the food is predominantly produced in rural areas of
Pakistan, yet a majority of the poor have lower economic access to food as
compared to urban areas [World Bank (2008); Staatz, et al. (2009)].

6. Dependence on Markets:
Reliance on markets to obtain food for most of the food insecure people
both in urban and rural areas is a common feature. The dependence of the
urban poor on food markets is very well-known and documented, while
the reliance of most of the rural food insecure among landless, marginal
and small sized farmers‘ classes is rarely acknowledged [Staatz, et al.
(2009)].

7. Rising Population:
In view of continuously rising population, the food demand in the country
shall naturally increase. However, due to change in population food
demand would be different from today‘s because of the factors like:
(a) increased proportion of older people due to age longevity;
(b) greater urbanisation and emergence of big cities;
(c) changes in family composition and structure;
(d) changes in food consumption patterns and habits;
(e) prevalence of diseases like Cardiac, Diabetic and Hepatitis etc.
having special food requirements; and
(f) rapid penetration of Super Markets and international Food Chains in
developing countries.

To target such diversions in food consumption the major focus should be

to incentivise the agricultural production to future needs. Thus,
production system needs to be channelised towards higher production of
fruit, vegetable and other high value commodities.

CONCLUSION:

In the light of stated causes and facts, its evident that tremendous efforts are
needed to narrow the gap between food demand due to population growth and
domestic food production. Managing food security in Pakistan requires an
understanding about how agricultural policies affect food supply and incomes,
the poor vulnerable in rural and urban areas. Unfortunately, the policy makers
are only concentrating on attaining and maintaining self sufficiency in wheat
production. Periodically, strong interventions are made in terms of significant
increase in wheat support prices along with subsidising fertiliser prices to
achieve bumper wheat crop.
On the other hand, the way government is managing procurement and
distribution of food crops for low prices of wheat flour like offering wheat flour
at subsidized prices, income support, cheap bread on tandurs etc., which has
heavily burdened the national exchequer as well as encouraged development of
different cartels and mafias, e.g. wheat flour industry, poultry hatchery and feed
industry, etc. A number of real world challenges and constraints have been
highlighted for facilitating policy makers in designing a comprehensive food
security policy for this country.
In the way forward, some recommendations are made along with highlighting
Food Security in Pakistan, the need of new institutions for developing a R&D
based infrastructure as well as defining the role of the government in food
sector of Pakistan is really necessary.

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 http://www.pakissan.com/english/allabout/crop/maize.shtml
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