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9 - Food Security in Afghanistan
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- By Shakeel Ahmed Ramay, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad
- Edited by Surabhi Mittal, Senior Fellow, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), Deepti Sethi, Research Assistant at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)
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- Book:
- Policy Options to Achieve Food Security in South Asia
- Published by:
- Foundation Books
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 02 June 2011, pp 206-223
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
Introduction
Afghanistan is a landlocked and mountainous country situated approximately in the South-Central Asia. According to UN estimate of 2009, country is inhabited with around 28 million population. The National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) 2007–2008 states that more than half of the population of Afghanistan lives below the poverty line. Also, around 31 per cent of the total population does not meet its daily food requirements and around 4 million people each year are severely affected by natural disasters.
The overall threat to the food security in the country is due to the ongoing political risks, difficult access to market, poor sanitation, low education level, droughts and floods and environmental degradation. In lieu of these problems, this chapter discusses the policy options available to tackle the issue of food security in Afghanistan. The chapter also throws light on the role of trade and food bank as a way to achieve food security in the country.
Socio-Political Situation and Access to Food
Historically speaking, whenever either food prices soar or a devastating decrease in the production of food occurs, there is an uproar about food security. The price hike of 1970s and mid 1990s, great famine of 1984–85, and decrease in production during the first decade of 2000 are substantive examples in support of the argument. Although food security is a global issue, its incident is unequally distributed across the world and regions.
5 - State of Agriculture and Food Security in Pakistan
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- By Shakeel Ahmed Ramay, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan
- Edited by Surabhi Mittal, Senior Fellow, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), Deepti Sethi, Research Assistant at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)
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- Book:
- Policy Options to Achieve Food Security in South Asia
- Published by:
- Foundation Books
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 02 June 2011, pp 106-136
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Introduction
Pakistan is the sixth most populated country in the world and has the second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia. Pakistan has been considered as a low-income country by the World Bank. About 55 per cent of the adults in Pakistan are literate and life expectancy is 64 years. According to WDI 2009, its population in 2008 was about 166 million and is growing at 2.2 per cent annually. The low level of spending in the social services and high population growth have led to persistent poverty and unequal income distribution. Pakistan's extreme poverty and underdevelopment are the key concerns for the country especially in rural areas.
In South Asia, Pakistan is the second major food producer, next to India. However, despite this fact, the issue of food security has not been resolved in the country. At the time of partition of Pakistan from India in 1947, the present day Pakistan was self sufficient in the production of food, but after the partition, Pakistan was unable to maintain its self sufficieny. The reasons which explain failure to attain self-sufficiency are – lack of political will, negligence of agriculture, unequal distribution systems, scattered land holding, lack of land reform policy, and low investment in agriculture sector. Due to this, Pakistan is also the second most undernourished and malnourished region of the world.
Pakistan needs to devise policies at national, regional and international levels which can help to understand and resolve the problem of food security. In this context, this chapter discusses various aspects, policies and strategies to attain food security in Pakistan. The chapters also throw light on the state of agriculture, role of trade and food bank, and way forward to achieve food security in the country.
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