FOOD security means that food is available at all times, all persons have access to it, it is nutritionally adequate in terms of quality, quantity and variety, it is affordable and is acceptable within a given culture.

For sustainable food security at national and household levels, states need to provide its citizens an easy access to sufficient food. A major factor responsible for current food crises is the focus from agriculture to industry. With agriculture sector neglected, the food production has fallen drastically as compared to the ever-increasing consumption. The fear of food shortage worldwide and drought in wheat producing countries has encouraged stock piling and building up of strategic grain reserves by many countries. The use of maize as bio-fuel for the production of ethanol has shifted the area of wheat to maize, pushing up food grain prices.

The food crises have a direct link with energy crisis, multinational company’s stock piling of food grains and cumulative political scenario. According to a recent study current food crisis has threatened to push 100 million people below poverty line.

Internationally a blame game now starts: who is responsible for high oil prices? It was seen in previous years that due to utilisation of sugarcane as bio-fuel in Brazil, international market clearly saw hike of sugar prices. Now maize, palm oil and sunflower oil are being utilised by different countries for bio-fuels.

Like many other countries, Pakistan is also faced with food shortage and increasing prices. Food availability, the first pillar of food security, is assessed on the basis of food production and consumption. Out of 120 districts, 74 (62 per cent) were found to be food deficit in terms of net availability.

Wheat, a staple food, catering to 48 per cent of caloric needs, was found deficit in terms of net availability and the shortage was estimated at 3.2 million tons annually. The government announced to import 2.5 million tons of wheat which cost more than double the domestic price. Other factors contributing to the crisis are: very low use of substitute of wheat i.e. maize, bajra and sorghum as a food, increase in demand of wheat for poultry feed as price of maize is higher than wheat, and smuggling of food to neighbouring countries.

A quick survey was conducted to asses the situation of food prices crises. The study targeted those farmers having less than five acres (below two hectares) in two districts i.e. Toba Tek Singh and Sheikhupura. According to the data, 17 per cent less area was allocated for wheat crop by farmers due to rise in input prices. Prices of two main components fertiliser and oil increased significantly.

During the Rabi season, fertiliser prices increased by 45 per cent and oil prices went up from $72 to $115 per barrel, the main element of land preparation, tube well irrigation and threshing. Land preparations have almost 18 per cent expenditure share in total cost per acre. This year wheat yield decreased significantly (10.3 per cent) as compared to previous year due to factors like high costs of inputs and untimely rains etc.

The government announced procurement price (though late) of Rs625 per 40 kg, but due to lower supply position, the open market price is quite high. It was observed that the cost incurred by tenant farmers per 40 kg was Rs521 so the income earned by the farmers with land rent ($1.41 per day) was below the international poverty line which is $2 per day, whereas the land-owned farmers earned $2.39 per day which is also insufficient.

In Pakistan, farmers used to grow multiple crops following natural farming techniques. Their cropping patterns were the best example of the sustainable agro-ecosystem. Toward the end of the 1960s, along with some other developing countries in Asia, Pakistan experienced an influx of improved seed technology and with the advent of modern agriculture, the traditional agricultural landscape was altered. Green revolution technology increased the cost of production by increasing the use of fertilisers and pesticides. Green revolution put drastic negative effects on our agriculture and affected resource base, agro diversity and agro-ecosystems.

Protection of small scale agriculture by adopting a strategy to build farmers’ capacity using local knowledge is the key factor to avert food price crisis. Reducing the cost of production by adopting ancient ecological and regenerative agriculture is needed.

Food insecurity is also characterised by lack of access to adequate and acceptable food. Women and girls get less food than males. Availability of food to low and the middle income groups is uncertain. Rise in the rate of inflation erodes the real incomes of these groups. To protect the disadvantaged groups’, food security should be enhanced by providing income subsidies and food coupons etc.

But the long- term solution lies in putting agriculture at the centre of economic development for food security and also for producing industrial raw materials. And farmers should get a fair prices for their produce.