Inflation, faldende indkomst, naturkatastrofer og stagnerende produktivitet hæmmer forsøg på at opnå fødevaresikkerhed for Pakistans 180 millioner borgere.
Det skriver IRIN.
Islamabad, 22. november 2012: More than half of pakstani households are food insecure, according to the last major national nutrition survey.
The prices of staple grains like wheat and rice have been stable but are “significantly higher” than 2011, according to the World Food Programme’s (WFP) October 2012 Global Food Security Update.
A 25 percent rise in fuel prices has also pushed up the price of food, as it becomes increasingly expensive to transport. WFP says rising food prices in international markets recently may also lead to price hikes in Pakistan.
“Efforts have to be made to increase production, but in Pakistan, the problem of food security is mainly a problem of access. Over the last couple of years, Pakistan has officially been a food surplus country in terms of cereal production,” says Krishna Pahari, head of WFP’s Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping unit in Islamabad.
“But many households here don’t have access to that food. Many are marginal, deficit, subsistence farmers whose own production is not enough to meet their needs. You’re a farmer, but you have to buy food from the market because of insufficient production.”
Despite the concerns of officials and experts, some believe that because Pakistan’s primary food security issue is access, there are ways to handle it.
“This also provides an opportunity,” says Pahari. “It means that in terms of the national food situation, maybe Pakistan is OK. With good management, and by putting mechanisms in place to improve access, there is potential to ensure food security.”
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