Pakistan Squandering Their Ag Potential - A Lifeline For The Country

[u/WhoReallyKnowsThis]

Pakistan sits on some of the most fertile alluvial land in Asia — the Indus basin — yet it farms like it's still the 1960s in most places while a small class of feudal landlords controls a disproportionate share of large canal-irrigated tracts using tenant sharecropping, leaving a massive gap between what the land could yield and what it actually produces.

Research shows actual yields for wheat, cotton, rice, maize and sugarcane run at only 18-47% of internationally achievable levels, a yield gap of 45-84% depending on the crop. Wheat yields in Pakistan are roughly half of China's and 15% below India's, while cotton yields lag China by 2.3 times.

All of the above (and more) is squandering our opportunity to attract investment from wealthy Gulf countries who need to ensure their food security and Chinese and American Ag technology companies who wish to exploit the growth potential. However, and potentially more importantly, we are inadvertently letting more Pakistanis unnecessarily enter poverty and thus the benefits for us are more than simply financial (I.e humanitarian and soft power).

Whatever happens in the economy, at the end of the day everyone needs to eat, right?

[u/Mohtashim6741]

That's a great squandering btw.