View from Islamabad: Rice growers' woes need to be addressed

Pakistan's rice prices have edged higher in the past week on the back of depleting supplies, reinforcing an all too familiar point about the structure of the country's agricultural businesses and their export potential.

Consumers in many parts of the world look out for Pakistan's well known 'Basmati' rice which is regarded for its rich aroma and size of the grain. For Pakistani exporters, such over the shelf products present a globally recognized image and help to promote the country's role as a supplier to the outside world.

In the next two to three months, Pakistan's exporters would be gearing up once again to procure fresh rice stocks in preparation for reaching out to global markets. Its not surprising that in anticipation of export orders, domestic rice prices are rising, especially in a year when floods in parts of the country only promise to cause a fall in the yield.

Farmers who were fortunate enough to have saved their crop from destruction may indeed benefit from higher prices as supplies from the new crop remain low.

But any celebration over rising prices, irrespective of the losses for some, can not mask some of the key deficiencies which must hit export prospects in the medium to long term.

Demand

Pakistan's sense of pride for the demand of its rice worldwide needs to be sobered down with not only a relatively more realistic assessment of global markets but indeed a candid admission of the many gaps which could well affect output in the coming years.

Pakistani rice farmers just like those who grow other commodities, indeed have suffered from neglect under successive governments. Official policies, though based on tall claims, nevertheless suffer from an acute gap where farmers seldom receive a fair return for their crops.

The large network of middle-men who are notorious for reaping a sizeable portion of the gains, end up earning a good part of the profits from any given crop.

Neglect

Farmers also suffer from other forms of neglect such as the failure of key government departments to assist them, and virtually no security when their crops are destroyed. Ironically, such insecurity for a sector which contributes almost a quarter of Pakistan's national GDP, neither makes up for sound agricultural policy nor helps the economy to achieve a long awaited turnaround.

In the ultimate analysis, the fate of Pakistan's large population of rural dwellers would only begin to change once the fate of the agricultural sector goes through a long overdue and profound uplift.

For the many consumers of Pakistan's fine aroma 'basmati' rice worldwide, there may be no immediate affect linked to the lives of the country's farmers.

After all, the main interest of such consumers may only be to enjoy their rice across the meal tables. But in the long run, the eroding capacity of Pakistani farmers to keep on producing quality rice must ultimately make itself felt across the dining tables.

Once Pakistani farmers feel the heat and their output goes down, it is certain that rice producers from other more competitive countries are bound to surge ahead in occupying the vacuum. For Pakistan's policy makers, the challenge must be to facilitate a widespread recovery in rice production before it is too late.