issues Agriculture: and challenges -DAWN - Business; 07 February, 2005
07 February 2005 Monday 27 Zilhaj 1425
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Agriculture: issues and challenges
By Prof. Dr Bashir Ahmed Sheikh
The agriculture of Pakistan in general and Sindh in particular is exposed
to a number of problems ranging from poor yields to marketability of
commodities, water shortages to conservation, from grading to set world
quality norms , and from indiscriminate use of pesticides to biological
control.
The yield of major crops like cereal production has decreased due to
variety of reasons. The most significant appear to be ecological changes
and timely availability of the inputs including non availability of
high-yielding and disease, insect and pest free elite stock of seed
varieties (germplasm) in addition to scarcity of water fit for irrigation.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) regime has become another critical
challenge. Its implications on agriculture, undoubtedly, surpass all other
threats confronted by other sectors of economy. It is imperative to take
immediate and structural measures to deal with the short-term and
long-term challenges of the WTO.
According to WTO agreement on agriculture (AoA), it is mandatory for each
country, to provide market access to international commodities and do away
with domestic and export subsidies. Therefore, the government policies are
required to be focused on the measures to control/minimize the cost of
production to a sustainable level besides, maintaining quality to enable
entrepreneurs to compete in the international market.
It is necessary to formulate new long- term policies horizontally and
vertically for food security and embark upon the new projects in
agriculture to cater to the needs of the rising population in the next
25-50 years. Cereal production should be raised by at least 40 per cent
over the next 25 years to meet needs for food, livestock feed, and fibre
crops. Similarly, production of all other major food products shall have
to be increased to meet the subsequent demand.
The per capita agricultural land continues to shrink and land resources
are increasingly depleting. The continuing problems of salinity and
deforestation have become a menace. Finally, the water scarcity will
become more acute over the years due to global warming and loss of
glaciers.
Pakistan is facing a severe drought of its history for the last few years.
Over five million people are facing famine-like situation in many
districts of Balochistan, Thar, Dadu, and Thatta. The provinces are having
a dispute on the distribution of water. Some experts emphasize for
efficient utilization of surface water.
Even the reallocation of water need to be reviewed at canal command level
in the light of cropping pattern, intensity and other related factors. It
must be supplemented by fully exploiting groundwater, rain harvesting and
exploitation of avenues of new water, wherever possible.
Focus should shift on the production of crops that require less water and
those that have a high export value. The issue of low productivity arises
not only with crops but also with livestock and fisheries. The strategies
for increasing productivity with crops are further linked to high yielding
varieties, availability of the quality of seed including hybrid ones,
balanced fertilizer application, integrated pest management, and optimum
but effective and efficient utilization of water and land resources.
Sindh totally depends on Indus water which comes from thousands of miles
away from Himalayas in Tibet. Without Indus water, Sindh is totally barren
and prone to seawater encroachment. Recent drought accompanied by cyclone
of 1998 has rendered infertile, the vast fertile lands along the sea belt.
Sindh is a natural drainage valley, it offers drainage outlet to entire
Pakistan.
While the Mother Nature has graced it with responsibility of drainage
relief for entire country, it has blessed it with early maturing climate
suitable for agricultural crops, reverine and estuarial mangrove forests
as well. Its vast Thar desert and hilly ranges further invite investors to
harvest the unexplored potentials of minerals and biodiversity.
The land and water data between 1997-98 and 1999-2000 shows that Sindh has
34.77 million acres (MA) of land, out of which there is about 9.75 MA area
cropped at 4.7 acre-feet of water per acre of land. Average yields of
Sindh are almost equal to that of the Punjab but much lower than world
averages.
Further loss to agriculture can be prevented by adding new facilities for
advanced research and development, providing basic framework for
redirecting policies and priorities, and mobilizing reallocating and funds
to optimize use of physical and natural resources and the physical
environment in ways that are ecologically sustainable and economically and
socially viable.
Higher education is a capital investment and is of paramount importance
for economic and social development. The institutions of higher education
have the main responsibility of producing individuals with advanced
knowledge and skills required for positions of responsibility in the
public and private organizations. Only highly educated manpower with
updated knowledge can handle advanced technology and innovations. Thus,
without the participation of well-qualified manpower, the process of
economic development cannot be accelerated in any sector, be it
agriculture or otherwise.
The fast communication access has led to the internationalization and
globalization of economies, knowledge and culture. The concept of access
to life long learning's have also assumed a distinctive character and so
is higher education at national and international scene.
Internationalization has put university education in the forefront of the
world educational map. Thus our universities and institutions will be
required to meet the international standards and provide better outlook
and comfortable living to attract international community for education
and research.
The main goal of agriculture universities will be to overcome the problems
by creating conducive academic and research environment to produce well
equipped manpower in agriculture and allied sciences and to meet the
international standards of education and research aimed at bringing a
quantum jump in yields and production and to alleviate poverty. To achieve
these goals, there must be clarity of vision and objective definition of
targets.
Short-term objectives: *Making existing laboratories of various
departments functional through repair and rehabilitation of equipment;
*provision of state-of-the-art equipment for advanced research; *
increasing enrolment at undergraduate and postgraduate level to meet
manpower requirement; *revising curriculum to meet the needs of
employers/clientele; *improving the evaluation system; *Upgrading the
central library by providing latest books, journals, official records both
hard and electronic copies through digitalization and networking;
*computerizing the administrative system including, accounts, admissions,
examinations; *identifying focused areas of academic and research
activity.
Long-term goals: * solutions to challenges and issues; * establishing new
centres of the emerging sciences; providing state-of-the-art equipment for
advanced research; improving skills of the staffers through foreign and
local trainings;* renovating and constructing new residential
accommodation for students and staff; * providing standard housing for
foreign students and expatriates; improving t...