Agriculture is a critical sector of the economy providing jobs, food and export revenues. It is likely to maintain its key role particularly as manufacturing and services sectors, which have led development in many other countries, have not grown as they should have.

Unfortunately, performance of the agriculture sector this year has been poor with a fall in production of most major crops and overall growth of 0.56%. In part, this was due to the unfavourable weather, with drought-like conditions and high temperatures in most parts of the country. In part, it was also due to the speed of reforms of the corrupt and inefficient wheat procurement system — reforms that were long overdue but maybe needed more time and better preparation.

To get agriculture back on track, further reforms are needed such as liberalising domestic and international trade in both products and inputs. At the same time, the billions that were being spent on wheat procurement need to be redirected to neglected areas such as research and extension, promotion of agri-tech companies, land consolidation and use of new areas where cultivation is possible, albeit intermittently, due to climate change. If needed, further resources could be mobilised by reforming or privatising other inefficient government enterprises, such as the provincial seed companies and livestock farms.

However, these changes, unlike policy reforms, require strong implementation capacity. And, to anyone familiar with development efforts in Pakistan, implementation remains our Achilles heel. Provincial Government........

© The Express Tribune