Pakistan

Despite steady economic growth over the past ten years, access to food for vulnerable populations remains a major issue in Pakistan. Consistently-rising food prices have resulted in 43 million Pakistanis living with severe food insecurity. (This data is from 2007, and excludes the millions more that have been affected and that have lost their agricultural livelihoods after the devastating floods of August 2010.) A combination of conflicts, natural disasters and other detrimental factors continue to augment figures such as the number of those undernourished, which unlike in most other underdeveloped and undeveloped countries, have worsened over a period of twenty years.

Video: FAO in Pakistan

FAO's main in-country programmes

Special Programme for Food Security
FAO has been assisting Pakistan to improve its food security since 1998. The Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) carried out water control in five villages in Punjab, the North West Frontier Province and Sindh targeting over 500 families. This successful programme encouraged the Government of Pakistan to expand the programme to 109 villages in 20 union councils of 15 districts between 2001 and 2006. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock allocated over US$8 million for this work.

A participatory training project strengthened provincial capacities. From 2002 to 2004, it took initiatives to improve the capacity of agricultural extension agents, rural community organizations and village-based business support services.

National Programme for Food Security
Based on the positive experiences with the SPFS, the Government of Pakistan has been implementing a National Programme for Food Security since July 2007. The Crop Maximisation Project, funded with US$130 million from the government itself, supports 55 000 households in 1 012 villages. Major activities are the organization and empowerment of farmers' communities, capacity building for farmers and extension staff, enhancing productivity of crops and livestock, increasing income by establishing small enterprises and developing market linkages. The project is based on farmers' leadership and assists in organizing the farming community at village level through establishing village organizations. Investments are made through revolving funds at the community level. Pakistan is also involved in a Regional Programme for Food Security.

EMPRES animal health component
The Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) has focused on two main animal health problems on Pakistan: highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and rinderpest.

Pakistan is known to have co-circulation of several HPAI viruses. EMPRES monitors the situation through a regional network, running in parallel with on-going FAO projects. The regional network addresses improvement of surveillance (including wildlife), laboratory diagnostics and the development of contingency plans.

Pakistan successfully obtained international recognition of freedom from rinderpest in 2007. The country had been one of the last reservoirs of rinderpest persistence in Asia and was a high priority country for the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme. Pakistan has benefited considerably by regaining livestock markets in the Middle East lost earlier because of rinderpest.

EMPRES activities also include gaining a better understanding of disease dynamics, particularly foot-and-mouth disease, peste des petits ruminants and Haemorrhagic Septicaemia through regular programme activities and a Trust Fund supported by Italy

EMPRES Desert Locust component
Pakistan is a member of the FAO Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in Southwest Asia, together with Afghanistan, India and Iran. In line with the FAO Conference recommendation to extend EMPRES to the whole Desert Locust distribution area, these four countries called for the establishment of the EMPRES Desert Locust component in the region to provide training and to support applied locust research. The secretariat is presently provided by the Locust Group at FAO headquarters.

Emergency and rehabilitation
In flood-and-earthquake-affected districts, FAO has supported the renewal of farming activities through the distribution of seeds, fertilizers, agricultural tools, veterinary supplies and the rehabilitation of community-based on-farm irrigation and water harvesting systems. Under the Initiative on Soaring Food Prices, FAO seeks to bolster food production through targeted investments in the agriculture sector and to render food accessible to the most vulnerable. FAO also helps small-scale farmers raise their output and earn more income.

National Medium Term Priority Framework
Pakistan's National Medium Term Priority Framework (NMTPF) for the agriculture sector is a strategic planning and programming tool to facilitate external technical assistance resource mobilization. FAO responded to the government's request for assistance to facilitate the preparation of the NMTPF through a project that started in early March 2007. The framework aims to reduce poverty and increase economic growth and the quality of human development in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It covers the entire breadth of agriculture and integrates rural development in the priority support and core strategies. Priorities include: repositioning agriculture competitiveness in the national and global economy; ensuring food security, environmentally-sustainable agriculture and consumer safety; facilitating rural renaissance through entrepreneurship among small and medium enterprises and the resource-poor agricultural labour force; and optimizing disaster management and emergency preparedness.

One UN - One Programme
Pakistan is one of eight pilot countries selected to implement the UN "Delivering as One" initiative. Through the development of joint programmes at country level, this initiative helps the UN family - with its many and diverse agencies - to ensure faster and more effective development operations and accelerate progress to achieve the MDGs.

Last updated: 18 July 2011