ISLAMABAD: Despite political instability, several recent policies have created a framework for agricultural reform and rural revitalisation in Pakistan, according to a global food policy report.

The ‘2019 Global Food Policy Report’ — released by the Washing­­ton-based Inter­national Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) — says that rural transformation in South Asia is at a crossroads but in just under a decade rural areas could become premier hubs of innovation.

It recommends revitalising rural areas with a focus on five building blocks: creating farm and non-farm rural employment opportunities, achieving gender equality, addressing environmental challenges, improving access to energy and investing in good governance.

Rural areas remain underserved compared to urban areas and face a wide array of challenges across the globe: environmental crisis in China, severe agrarian crisis in India and acute shortage of jobs for the growing youth populations in Africa.

Recent policies have created a framework for agricultural reform and rural revitalisation in Pakistan

To overcome these challenges, the report calls for rural revitalisation, highlighting policies, institutions, and investments that can transform rural areas into vibrant and healthy places to live, work and raise families.

The report says agricultural livelihoods still provide more than 43 per cent of employment, meaning that most jobs in the region are in the informal sector.

It emphasised that implementing a “decent employment agenda” will require improving rural livelihoods. The predominance of smallholder farming communities, their increasing political voice and national commitments to SDGs are prompting governments in the region to emphasise inclusive rural development strategies.

Marked by the deepening cycle of hunger and malnutrition, persistent poverty, limited economic opportunities, and environmental degradation, rural areas continue to be in a state of crisis in many parts of the world, threatening to slow the progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, global climate targets, and improved food and nutrition security, the report says.

A majority of the world’s poor live in rural areas: rural populations account for 45.3pc of the world’s total population, but 70pc of the world’s extremely poor. The global poverty rate in rural areas is currently 17pc, more than double the urban poverty rate of 7pc.

Looking forward to 2019, the report says the prospects for rural development are encouraging. Across Asia, inclusive employment growth, continued agricultural productivity growth, and strengthening of the agriculture-based rural non-farm economy will be essential to ensure inclusive rural transformation. However, the region remains poorly integrated and is not taking advantage of its cultural affinities, common geography or the advantages of proximity, the report points out.

In Pakistan, despite political instability, several recent policies have created a framework for agricultural reform and rural revitalisation. These include the 2018 National Food Security Policy and National Water Policy, the 2012 National Climate Policy and enabling legislation of 2017, the 2018 Provincial Agriculture and Water Policies, and the National Drinking Water Policy.

Read more:Pakistan’s first national water policy – historic or mere electioneering?

Despite an acceleration of urbanisation in recent years, South Asia’s demographic transition has been slow and the region remains predominately rural — 67pc of the population lives in rural areas. Although rural poverty has declined sharply, one-fifth of South Asia’s rural population remains poor.

Read more:80pc of Pakistan’s poor live in rural areas, says World Bank report

The structure of South Asia’s national economies has changed dramatically in recent decades, marked by a sharp decline in the share of the agriculture sector. Agriculture now accounts for less than 16pc of regional gross domestic product (GDP) in South Asia.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2019