Politics of Food Security in The Federation of Pakistan: Dilemma of The Agricultural Economy
Keywords:
Food security, securitization, national security, climate change, federationAbstract
Food security is one of the pressing security concerns of Pakistan, stemming from resource instability, which implicates human security and, consequently, national security. A count of almost 250 million people who depend on 20% of GDP from agriculture as direct input struggles with the dilemma of food security. The fundamental dilemma of resource security in Pakistan is the politicization emanating from the contestation of federating units and the centre. The tumultuous geopolitics of food, climate change, water scarcity, rapid urbanization and consistent high population growth considerably complicate the web of food security. An inconsistent pattern of this phenomenon requires the sustainable availability of adequate food resources for the population. However, Pakistan is increasingly unable to meet as 63% of the country’s households struggle with insufficient food supplies. This study is aimed at analyzing Pakistan's food security web from the perspective of politicization due to unresolved and contesting positions of the federation and federating units. The regional, international, economic, and environmental aspects are quite plausible, but the political angle has yet to be analyzed in depth, which this study aims at with the inductive approach through qualitative methodology.
Downloads
References
Ahmed, M., & Farooq, U. (2010). The state of food security in Pakistan: Future challenges and coping strategies. The Pakistan Development Review, 49(4), 903–923. http://www.pide.org.pk/pdf/PDR/2010/Volume4/903-923.pdf
Altaf, Z. (2010). Food security in pluralistic Pakistan. In M. Kugelman & R. M. Hathaway (Eds.), Hunger pains: Pakistan’s food insecurity (pp. 43–62). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Asian Human Rights Commission. (2010). Pakistan: Half of the population is exposed to food insecurity because of bad governance and abuses. http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-ART-058-2010/
Balagamwala, M., & Gazdar, H. (2014). Life in a time of food price volatility: Evidence from two communities in Pakistan (IDS Working Paper No. 449). Institute of Development Studies. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/4462/Wp449.pdf
Brohi, N. (n.d.). Gender and land reforms in Pakistan [Summary]. Sustainable Development Policy Institute. https://sdpi.org/sdpiweb/publications/files/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20P-34aa.pdf
Claeys, P. (2013). From food sovereignty to peasants' rights: An overview of Via Campesina's struggle for new human rights. In La Via Campesina’s open book: Celebrating 20 years of struggle and hope. https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/05/EN-02.pdf
Dawn. (2010, October 11). Land reforms in Pakistan. https://www.dawn.com/news/570487
Dawn. (2014, June 24). IDPs protest food shortage in Bannu. https://www.dawn.com/news/1114839
Dorosh, P., Malik, S., & Krausova, M. (2010). Rehabilitating agriculture and promoting food security following the 2010 Pakistan floods: Insights from South Asian experience. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/69665ae67f5bae070fac564b7b62bff150ae467d
Economist Impact. (2022). Global food security index 2022. https://impact.economist.com/sustainability/project/food-security-index/
Economist Intelligence Unit. (2013). Global food security index 2013: An assessment of food affordability, availability and quality.
Economist Intelligence Unit. (2018). Global food security index 2018: An assessment of food affordability, availability and quality. https://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com
Fang, C., & Sanogo, I. (2014). Food price volatility and natural hazards in Pakistan: Measuring the impacts on hunger and food assistance. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Farooq, U., & Ayub, I. (2025, October 24). Punjab under fire for ‘choking’ wheat flow to two provinces. DAWN. https://www.dawn.com/news/1950908
FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, & WHO. (2017). The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2017: Building resilience for peace and food security. FAO.
FAO. (2010). The state of food insecurity in the world: Addressing food insecurity in protracted crises. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
FAO. (2011). The state of food insecurity in the world: How does international price volatility affect domestic economies and food security? Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Finance Division. (2024). Pakistan economic survey 2023-24. Government of Pakistan. https://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapter_24/2_agriculture.pdf
Food and Agriculture Organization. (2011). Monitoring and analysis country brief: Pakistan.
Food and Agriculture Organization. (2011). Pakistan floods: One year on: From relief to recovery.
Friedman, J., Hong, S. Y., & Hou, X. (2011). The impact of the food price crisis on consumption and caloric availability in Pakistan (HNP Discussion Paper). World Bank.
Gazdar, H. (2009). The fourth round, and why they fight on: An essay on the history of and reform in Pakistan. Collective for Social Science Research. http://www.researchcollective.org/Documents/The_Fourth_Round.pdf
Hathaway, R. M., & Lee, W. (2004). Islamisation and the political economy. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Hooper, E. (2010). Pakistan’s food crisis: Water, energy, agriculture & power: The conflict ahead. CIDOB. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/126043/notes_internacionals_25.pdf
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. (2013). HRCP demands adequate, affordable, nutritious food for all. http://hrcp-web.org/hrcpweb/hrcp-demands-adequate-affordable-nutritious-food-for-all/
Islam, M., Shehzad, F., Qayyum, A., Abbas, M. W., & Siddiqui, R. (2023). Growth analysis of production of food crops and population growth for food security in Pakistan. Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: B. Life and Environmental Sciences, 60(1). https://doi.org/10.53560/ppasb(60-1)762
Khan, M. A., & Shah, S. A. A. (2011). Food insecurity in Pakistan: Causes and policy response. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 24, 493–509.
Khan, S. R., et al. (2001). The case for land and agrarian reforms in Pakistan (SDPI Policy Brief Series No. 12).
Khan, Y., Bojnec, Š., Daraz, U., & Zulpiqar, F. (2024). Exploring the nexus between poor governance and household food security. Economic Change and Restructuring. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/1eeede0c4bca41c9400bfbd4651ddc23f5b1d77c
Kilelo, E. S., Nowicki, M., Nguka, G., Olimba, L. A., Konyole, S. O., & Termote, C. (2023). Food security’s broken link: The misalignment of stakeholder priorities in agriculture and nutrition in Vihiga County, Kenya. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2d16b2e920e9afea37d396669ff86d0a175ce2a4
Kish, Z. (2011). Food sovereignty. In D. K. Chatterjee (Ed.), Encyclopedia of global justice. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9160-5_743
Kugelman, M. (2010). Pakistan’s food insecurity: Roots, ramifications, and responses. In M. Kugelman & R. M. Hathaway (Eds.), Hunger pains: Pakistan’s food insecurity (pp. 5–14). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Lopez-Calix, J., Mejia, C., Newhouse, D., & Sobrado, C. (2014). Pakistan poverty trends, scenarios and drivers (Policy Paper Series on Pakistan PK 23/12). World Bank.
Macrae, J., & Zwi, A. (1992). Food as an instrument of war in contemporary African famines: A review of the evidence. Disasters. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/92e290c3dcc86683017f853c1d00f87976eb31cf
Malik, R. (2010). The food security-governance nexus in Pakistan. In M. Kugelman & R. M. Hathaway (Eds.), Hunger pains: Pakistan’s food insecurity (pp. 63–79). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Malik, R., & Ali, M. (2015). The impact of urbanization on agriculture sector: A case study of Peshawar, Pakistan. Journal of Resources Development and Management. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234696078.pdf
Malik, S. J. (2010). Food supply challenges and implications for food security. In M. Kugelman & R. M. Hathaway (Eds.), Hunger pains: Pakistan’s food insecurity (pp. 43–62). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Malik, S. M. (2011). An empirical investigation of the relationship between food insecurity, landlessness, and violent conflict in Pakistan (PIDE Working Papers No. 71). http://pide.org.pk/pdf/Working%20Paper/WorkingPaper-71.pdf
Mari, F. M. (2013). Assessment of institutional reforms in irrigation sector in Pakistan: A way forward. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/e32e01099dd350693c734a5cfff779e18d5cbb84
Meena, H. K. (2015). Land tenure systems in the late 18th and 19th century in colonial India. AIJRHASS, 9(1), 66.
Ministry of Planning, Development & Reform. (n.d.). Pakistan 2025: One vision one nation. Government of Pakistan. http://pc.gov.pk/uploads/vision2025/Vision-2025-Executive-Summary.pdf
Myllytaus, T., & Sourabh, N. C. (n.d.). Changing land ownership, agricultural, and economic systems. Environment and Society Portal. http://www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/famines-india/changing-land-ownership-agricultural-and-economic-systems
National Assembly of Pakistan, Constitution of Pakistan (2012). https://na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1333523681_951.pdf
Newman, E. (2018). Hungry, or hungry for change? Food riots and political conflict, 2005–2015. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2018.1454042
Patel, R. (2009). Grassroots voices: What does food sovereignty look like? The Journal of Peasant Studies, 36(3), 663–706.
Peerzado, M., Magsi, H., & Sheikh, M. (2019). Land use conflicts and urban sprawl: Conversion of agriculture lands into urbanization in Hyderabad, Pakistan. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1658077X17303818
Rahim, S. (2012). Pakistan’s food shortage alarms rights organizations. DW. http://www.dw.com/en/pakistans-food-shortage-alarms-rights-organizations/a-16309778
Raju, D., & D’Souza, R. (2017). Child undernutrition in Pakistan: What do we know? (Policy Research Working Paper 8049). World Bank.
Sims, H. (1993). Economic imperatives, political risks, and modes of action: Agricultural policy implementation in India and Pakistan. The Journal of Developing Areas, 27(2), 146–156.
Suleri, A. Q. (2009). Food crises in developing countries: The role of national governance. The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future.
Suleri, A. Q. (2010). The social dimensions of food insecurity in Pakistan. In M. Kugelman & R. M. Hathaway (Eds.), Hunger pains: Pakistan’s food insecurity (pp. 80–98). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Suleri, A. Q., & Haq, S. (2009). Food insecurity in Pakistan in 2009. World Food Programme. http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/ena/wfp225636.pdf
Toor, S. (2010). The structural dimensions of food insecurity in Pakistan. In M. Kugelman & R. M. Hathaway (Eds.), Hunger pains: Pakistan’s food insecurity (pp. 99–116). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Uppsala Conflict Data Program. (n.d.). UCDP database. Uppsala University. http://ucdp.uu.se
World Bank. (2010). Food price increases in South Asia: National responses and regional dimensions.
World Bank. (2010). Food price watch (May 2010). Poverty Reduction and Equity Group.
World Bank. (2010). Food price watch (September 2010). Poverty Reduction and Equity Group.
World Bank. (2011). Food price watch (August 2011). Poverty Reduction and Equity Group.
World Bank. (2013). Pakistan: Towards an integrated national safety net system (Report No. 66421-PK).
World Bank. (2013). The heterogeneous effects of a food price crisis on child school enrollment and labor: Evidence from Pakistan (Policy Research Working Paper 6566).
World Bank. (2017). Food price watch. Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network.
World Bank. (n.d.). Global consumption database: Pakistan. http://datatopics.worldbank.org/consumption/country/Pakistan
Yusuf, Z. (2012). Rising food scarcity must be addressed: HRCP. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. http://hrcp-web.org/hrcpweb/rising-food-scarcity-must-be-addressed-hrcp-2/
Zahoor, M. A. (2018). History and politics of land reforms in Pakistan: A case study of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto era. Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, 31(2), 124.
Downloads
Published
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Zainab Ahmed, Maryam Ahmad (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
