Author: Dr. Tahir Mehmood

Pakistan is a country which is blessed with all types of soils and seasons. Be it any crop there is suitable area available in this country. For instance, olive which is taken as cash oil producing crop is suitable for cultivation on nearly 10 million acres of land. This mentioned area is not less than the area allocated in leading olive growing country i.e. Spain. Despite having this large suitable land for cultivation, the country remains fail to tap full benefits from this crop. Currently, around 61 thousand acres of land, only, is under olive cultivation in all provinces of…

Pakistan’s water problem is less about how much rain falls than about how little of it the country stores, protects and uses wisely. Water is not one resource among many; it is the condition on which every other resource depends. Yet the planet’s supply of usable water is surprisingly small. Only about 3 percent of the earth’s water is fresh, and most of that is locked in glaciers and ice caps, leaving well under 1 percent in rivers, lakes and accessible aquifers for drinking, farming and industry. Growing populations, expanding cities, soaring industries and the rising demand for food all…

Wheat is considered as backbone of food security especially in developing countries like Pakistan because most of its population consumes wheat in daily meals directly or indirectly. A positive side of the picture is that the country has so far been majorly fulfilling the population demand by itself, mostly attributed to the wheat support price. However, in the recent years the withdrawal of wheat support price, the farmers in general and in particular the large wheat growers are vulnerable to discontinue growing wheat. Besides, above mentioned preference and importance, the cultivation and production of wheat is no more sustainable and…

After nearly two decades, more than 10.2 million beneficiary families and over Rs. 3.6 trillion in public spending, it is time to ask whether Pakistan’s anti-poverty strategy should evolve from providing relief to creating lasting opportunities. When the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) was launched in July 2008, it marked a significant step in Pakistan’s efforts to protect its most vulnerable citizens. Established as the country’s flagship social protection programme, BISP sought to shield poor households from the effects of inflation and economic hardship. At the same time, its long-term objectives were equally ambitious: to reduce poverty and empower women…