Page 44 - CMA Journal (Mar-Apr 2026)

management, unfair water distribution for irrigation, and unequal income distribution, poverty, weak research
non-conducive agricultural policies and mistrust will and development institutions, inappropriate
inevitably result in lower agricultural produce. warehousing and supply chain management, and
informal commodity marketing and distribution
There are ve major causes that can expose a country to the networks.
risk of food insecurity. The level of risk depends upon the
3) Land and Geography: Vast rain-fed area of the Potohar
intensity of the reason(s). The intensity of a single leading
region, vast hilly area, long belt of coastal area, and Thar
reason or a combination of reasons determines the level of
desert of Sindh are not suitable for conventional crop
risk to food insecurity. For example: cultivation.
o Extreme-Level Risk: Internal con ict, ethnic riots, nancial 4) Economic Factors: Financial dependency, poverty,
dependency and extreme weather conditions are a few of in ation, energy prices and food imports.
the reasons determining extreme level risk. 5) Climate Change Impact: Heavy rains, oods,
thunderstorms and hailstorms, cloudbursts and
o Very High-Level Risk: Water shortage, severe weather drought.
conditions, internal con ict and weak infrastructure may
6) Geopolitical Disruptions: US-Israel-Iran war, Russia-
be the reasons for such risk.
Ukraine war, and internal and ethnic con icts.
o High-Level Risk: Political instability, economic instability, 7) Political Instability and Polarization: Long-standing
in ation, poverty and poor governance. establishment intervention in national politics. A weak
justice system that derails political governance.
o Structural-Level Risk: Population pressure, weak Successive protests and sit-ins tarnishing the image of
technological base, underdevelopment, weak infrastructure, the country and destabilizing the economy. A weak
poor governance, economic instability, political polarization political system unable to meet the expectations of
and nancial dependency are the determinants of structural- stakeholders. Extreme polarization among political
level risk. parties and the electorate.

Reasons of Food Insecurity in Pakistan 8) Technological Gaps in Agriculture: Lack of adoption of
AI technology, Integrated Farming System (crops,
Following are the reasons that can expose the country to the vegetables, livestock and sheries), Digital Agriculture
risk of food insecurity. Platforms and internet technology.

1) Political Factors: Lack of uniform agricultural policy, Food Insecurity in Pakistan
generic allocation of resources, poor price policy, no
The agriculture sector that ensures food security comprises
policy to address the Cobweb theorem, and no tangible
four subsectors, namely crops, livestock, forestry and
policy for the Potohar region.
sheries. The other three agricultural sub-sectors do not
2) Structural Weaknesses: Focus on conventional crops, expose the country to food insecurity in the short run, unlike
fragmentation of holdings, population pressure, crops. Crops have great potential for exposure to food

42 ICMA’s Chartered Management Accountant, Mar-Apr 2026