Pakistan Army's support in the resettlement of barren lands!

 Pakistan has been included by the United Nations in the list of ten countries that may face severe food shortages in the coming years due to low production of agricultural commodities. The United Nations says that the cause of the aforementioned danger is climate change, the effects of which Pakistan has suffered for the past year. These were the days in 2022 when rains in Balochistan and Sindh and floods from Mount Sulaiman in southern Punjab damaged crops in Taunsa and other areas, then a few months later, exceptional monsoon rains engulfed the entire country and spread destruction everywhere. Thousands of acres of standing crops were destroyed in Sindh and South Punjab. The effects of these extraordinary rains were not yet over when the recent series of rains and hailstorms starting from March 15, 2023, caused irreparable damage to the wheat crop in Sindh and Punjab. It is clear from this situation that the above-mentioned effects of climate change on Pakistan's economy will cause the current destruction of agricultural commodities to worsen the already weak economic situation in the coming months. It would not be wrong to say that Pakistan's economy is highly dependent on the agriculture of Punjab and Sindh province, in which wheat and cotton are the main crops. Other crops include rice, maize, sugarcane, grams, etc. Similarly, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are famous for fruits and dry fruits, while mango production is gradually gaining importance in the Pakistani economy. So, if you look at the changing patterns of the weather, be it mango orchards, Rabi crops or Kharif crops are all under the influence of climate change.

We cannot deny the fact that Pakistan lags far behind in terms of the average yield of crops per acre despite the progress made in the agriculture sector worldwide. Who is responsible for the failure to implement modern techniques in agriculture? This has become meaningless. There is an urgent need to implement extraordinary measures to solve the problems faced by the country in terms of food shortage in the coming years, in which millions of acres of barren land in the four provinces of the country should be made cultivable. It is also important to mention the report issued by the World Bank on Pakistan's agriculture, according to which one of the reasons for the lack of development in the agriculture sector in Pakistan is the presence of large estates in the country. According to details, around 63% of the farmers associated with agriculture in Pakistan are landless cultivators, while 5% are landlords who own 64% of the cultivable agricultural area. According to the World Bank, owners of 5 to 50 acres of land in Pakistan get higher average yield per acre from their crops than large owners and landlords. This is due to the obstacles placed by influential landlords in the way of agrarian reforms in Pakistan. The bitter reality is that the big landlords of Punjab and Sindh want more production by giving very little compensation and facilities to their farmers, which is not possible. On the other hand, these landlords have built hunting grounds on very valuable cultivable areas. They are doing it to boast their prestige and glory, but overall, the country's economy has to bear the brunt of it. There are very few of the big jagirdars and zamindars who try new experiments besides increasing their production per acre by using innovation and new technology in agriculture. However, their efforts are limited and as per the overall economic requirements of the country, they are equal to salt in the flour.

In the coming years, not only Pakistan, but Arab states are also facing a similar situation, for which they have tried to change their deserts into fertile fields, but this is insufficient. They need cultivable agricultural land in nearby agricultural countries like Pakistan. According to the news published in the newspapers, these Arab states are trying to acquire agricultural land in Pakistan. There are also reports that many landlords in Pakistan are willing to lease their arable land to foreign Arab investors. Without thinking that when the Arab investors will take the production of the land acquired on lease in Pakistan to meet the food needs of their country, how the food needs of the rapidly growing population in Pakistan will be met? In support of this project, the impression is being given that the arrival of foreign agricultural investors in Pakistan will cause a "rain of dollars" in the country. But no one is willing to tell how much foreign exchange Pakistan will have to spend annually to provide food to its people. It is better to focus on increasing food resources effectively within the country instead of handing over its valuable agricultural land to foreign investors. And for this, cooperation should be obtained from Pakistan Army. Due to the ongoing political situation in the country for the past year, and the kind of propaganda against the Pakistan Army on social media, many readers and "big landlords"  may oppose the idea of taking help from the Pakistan Army to settle the barren lands lying idle in the country and development projects in the agriculture sector, in the political context. So, instead of just criticizing under the influence of propaganda, they should also come up with an alternative solution to the challenge of food shortage in Pakistan. The land that has millions of acres of barren and deserted for the last 75 years through what magic wand will turn the barren land into rolling fields?