Food security national security issue: Tanveer

LAHORE: Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain has said that food security is no longer just an agriculture issue; it has become a matter of national security.

He was speaking at the closing ceremony of the Pakistan Agricultural Coalition’s Agri Connections Conference and Expo at Lahore Expo Center on Friday, October 2. “Agriculture remains the backbone of our economy, with a 26% contribution to GDP and supporting the livelihoods of more than 100 million Pakistanis,” said the minister.

But, he added, the ground beneath farmers is shifting as floods are becoming more frequent and more destructive, and each time they take away crops, livestock and years of farmers’ hard work. “Heat waves now arrive earlier and stay longer. Water tells us an even more worrying story. At independence, every Pakistani had more than 5,600 cubic metres of water a year. Today, that figure has fallen below 900, placing us among the water-scarce nations of the world,” said the federal minister. He said that agriculture is a provincial subject, but food security is a national responsibility and, as a constitutional obligation, it must be met together. “Our farmers have never let this country down. Through floods, droughts and hard times, they have kept us fed. It is now our responsibility to stand with them and to back them through better research, better access to finance, fair markets and consistent policy,” stated the minister.

Meanwhile, on the second day of the conference, State Bank of Pakistan Deputy Governor Salimullah, during the session on “Building the Access to Finance Ecosystem for Pakistan’s Farmers”, stated that the most critical sector in the economy is the agriculture sector.

“To me, there are three binding constraints for farmers and the agriculture sector: risk and the lack of proper insurance coverage, which also makes banks reluctant to lend; the non-availability of accredited warehouses, with much of the agriculture value chain remaining in the informal sector; and access to finance. So we are trying to develop an ecosystem in which banks’ intervention and investment in the agriculture sector can be made a viable business proposition,” said Salimullah.

A session on “Investment Successes in Livestock” was also held, in which Omar Sagga, Chairman of Jeddah-based meat trading company Taraf, which has over 20 years’ experience in the business, including importing and distributing fresh, chilled and frozen lamb, goat, beef and camel meat, as well as live cattle-raising and fattening operations, discussed early interest from Gulf investors in Pakistan’s meat-processing sector.

“Based on our past experience, it’s proven to be a really good investment from our side. Pakistan has great human capital and quality livestock. Investor interest alone is not investment. The ecosystem has to give investors enough confidence to actually commit capital,” said Omar.

Chairman Pakistan Dairy Association Usman Zaheer Ahmed said Pakistan’s dairy sector was investable because of its size, producing 72 billion litres of milk annually and ranking as the world’s fourth-largest milk producer. He said formalising and taxing half of the informal sector at a minimum rate of 5% could generate about Rs250 billion in annual government revenue, with the full potential approaching half a trillion rupees.

A special session on “Developing the Foundation for Pakistan’s Shrimp Exports” and a roundtable between investors and the SECP on “Investment Opportunities in Pakistan’s Agriculture” were also held. A session on “The Future of Technology in Agriculture” featured CEO Hello Tractors Jehiel Oliver from Kenya.

“We are looking to build out mechanisation in Pakistan, where public-sector programmes like Green Tractor and OEMs like Al-Ghazi and Millat are supporting local manufacturing and doing exceptional work. We came up with a business model to connect farmers to farm equipment that has excess capacity. We believe that all farmers should have access to reliable, affordable equipment, but they shouldn’t own their own equipment. That’s a waste of money. That’s a poor use of a farmer’s balance sheet,” said Oliver.

At the end of the conference, CEO PAC Kazim Saeed presented the conference resolutions and call to action.