‘Community rehabilitation through reforming Health and Agriculture sectors of Pakistan’
Pakistan consumes 6.5 million tons of fertilizers annually which is not only destroying its soil and water table but also exacerbating environmental degradation. This abuse of fertilizers has affected the quality of soil over the years, resulting in the decreased level of agricultural yield.
The concern was voiced by Dr Mubashir Bhatti, a renowned entrepreneur and member National Commission for Human Development (NCHD), while highlighting the growing threat of food insecurity and its impact on agriculture in Pakistan during his talk on ‘Community rehabilitation through reforming agriculture and health sectors of Pakistan’ on December 4, 2020.
The session was chaired by Executive President IPS Khalid Rahman whereas the discussants included Amanullah Khan, former president, Rawalpindi Chambers of Commerce and Industries (RCCI), Zaheeruddin Dar, economic policy analyst, Dr Abdul Saboor and GM-IPS Naufil Shahrukh, among others.
Deliberating at length on the issue, Bhatti rued that due to bureaucratic impediments, government negligence and more focus on importing chemical fertilizers, Pakistan has not paid much attention to grow its own agro-based economy which has the potential of adding $ 100 billion to the national exchequer in the next 10 years. He urged the government to focus on agro dollars instead of petro or begging dollars as he vowed to install 1000 bio fertilizer units by the end of December 2021 in Pakistan which will reduce chemical fertilizer consumption in the country by 20-25%.
Dr Bhatti was of the opinion that owing to Pakistan’s geostrategic location, the country can benefit from increasing demand for halal food globally as it has the potential to lead the sector if the government intervenes and encourages small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to contribute to the global halal food economy. Similarly, he added, Pakistan can become self-sufficient in producing edible oil which, at present, is its second largest import after petroleum products.
The discussants endorsed Bhatti’s notions maintaining that nutrition security and food diversity were integral part of food security but people in Pakistan were not much aware of the rising threats posed in these arenas. They urged for reforms to improve the agro-based economy of the country while stressing on the need of micro interventions for sustainable economic development that can be achieved through food security.
