Food Security in Pakistan: The Current Status and the Way forward

In order to bring a very vital issue in the forefront a study was primarily conducted to prepare a policy paper on the Status of Food Security in Pakistan and A way forward. The paper was presented to the Parliamentarians so it can help evolve a policy on the issue of food security in Pakistan and a way out to address the issue. The study analyzed the reasons of recent global food crises, examining the effects of climate change, the rising food prices, the rise in the global oil prices, biofuel production, shortfall in stocks of food, commodity market speculation and the increasing demand of food in China and India. Our team came to the conclusion the all the above mentioned reasons did play a role in reduction to availability of food in Pakistan, however the recent food crises in Pakistan was mainly due to mismanagement and bad governance. As a result, the following recommendations were presented for food security in Pakistan;
1. There is a need to overhaul the research and market systems
2. There is a need to improve the management of food stocks
3. There is dire need for good governance
4. For the parts of population experiencing chronic and extreme food insecurity, establishing short to medium term social safety nets is essential.
5. In the medium-term, Government of Pakistan needs to focus on improved availability of food at affordable prices
6. Legislators should not only focus on policy and laws that would enhance the production but also on measures to ensure a sustained access to food as well as factors helping in food absorption