The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Monday said the plight of the agricultural sector would never allow the economy to develop. Inflation and poverty are continuously increasing due to collapsing agri sector, the food security situation is deteriorating, and the import bill of agricultural inputs is rising, it said.

The growth of this important sector has been 2.2 percent to 2.6 since the last fifteen years, which is very low. During this period, there has been a tremendous increase in the population and the demand for the industrial sector, said Brig. (retd) Aslam Khan, Chairman of PEW.

In a statement issued today, he said that wheat, maise, cotton, sugarcane, and rice are the most cultivated crops that consume most of the water, labour and capital. Still, their production has increased by only 1.1% in the last two decades.

He noted that the role of elites is very important in the deterioration of this sector. At the same time, other problems include wrong government policies, climate change, lack of investment, substandard seeds, fake pesticides, expensive fertilisers, and the non-availability of loans. Apart from this, lack of research, primitive methods, and some other problems have also played their role, he added.

Aslam Khan said that due to these conditions, farmers are continuously suffering, and their production is falling; therefore, the government has to import agricultural commodities and other items worth billions of dollars. If policymakers neglect this sector, its import bill may soon reach the same level as the fuel import bill, which Pakistan cannot afford.

This will increase poverty and worsen food security, which has been unsatisfactory for years. The biggest hurdle in the development of this sector are politicians and bureaucracy; this sector can be revived with the help of private investment.