LAHORE: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Businessmen Panel has stressed the need for giving priority to agriculture sector with a view to ensure food security, as Pakistan’s food import bill has jumped by almost 54% to $8 billion in fiscal year 2020-21, mainly owing to wheat, sugar, pulses and palm oil imports to fulfill the shortfall of local agriculture production.

FPCCI’s Businessmen Panel Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar pointed out that in the budget for 2021-22, the government had proposed several measures, including allocation of billions of rupees for increasing per acre yield, reducing wastage and establishing big stores for keeping staple food items, which need proper implementation by the authorities.

He said that lack of investment in agriculture research, poor governance, bad planning and climate change have already resulted in shortage of wheat, sugar and cotton. As a result, the import bill of cotton has increased substantially owing to record low production.

Pakistan’s food security is dependent on production of essential crops that are providing basic food and input for industrial production, Anjum Nisar added. However, the performance of agriculture sector presently does not guarantee self-sufficiency. FPCCI’s ruling group chief said that negligence of agriculture could lead the country towards severe food security while shortage of essential food items would increase inflation.

Quoting the figures of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, he said the share of food items in the total import bill reached almost 15% this year, showing Pakistan’s rising dependence on imports for food security, which is not good for the country. He said that the rising food import bill also triggered trade deficit that may cause some uneasiness on the external side for the government.