Improving Resource Efficiency, Crop Productivity & Food Safety in Rice Sector of Pakistan through Sustainable Rice Platform’s Standard

Pakistan ranks third in the world among countries facing acute water shortage and the threat of economic and social instability looms as a result. With an economy which is the most water intensive in the world, water scarcity is becoming an ever increasing focus for national and international organizations, research institutions and the government. All the important actors (managers and users) recognize that urgent action is needed to help mitigate the negative social and environmental implications of this impending crisis.

Rice is one of the highest water demanding crops and an important staple in addition to revenue generation source through export. More than 30 million Pakistanis, one way or the other, depend on rice for their employment, income, and livelihoods. Recently, rice has been facing several challenges, which pose a serious threat to its productivity, sustainability and export. Pakistan ranks 4th among the top ten rice exporting countries in the world. Rice is the 2nd largest crop after wheat in terms of area sown 2.89 mha (6.4% high from last year’s 2.74mha) with production of 7.44 million tons (8.7% higher than last year’s 6.84 million tons) 2nd most important economic crop 4 million tons export worth $2 billion(28%) compared to last year’s 3.44 million tons valuing $1.6 billion after cotton. It accounts for 3.1pc of value-addition in the agriculture sector and varyingly contributes 1.3-1.6pc to the GDP. Rice sector is engaging over 700.000 farm labor including around 200,000 transplanters (80% women, most vulnerable group in rice value chain) on 4.7 million acres in Punjab (62% of country’s rice area.

Despite these improvements on the supply side and corresponding initiatives on the marketing side, exports are still largely restricted to bulk dumping in Middle Eastern markets while brand development and value addition is missing badly. It is necessary that brand development should encourage for domestic markets and afterward these brands can go beyond national borders and claim a niche in the world market.

If Pakistan can afford to grow rice despite water scarcity, is a national discussion. ecologically suitable, equally lucrative and culturally acceptable alternatives in core rice area are not yet in place. The growers and buyers have two options: either encourage highly efficient irrigation technologies or face increasing pressure to change farming system for alternate crops. Changing the centuries’ old farming system dependent on rice cultivation will be a harsh undertaking. A better option therefore will be to bring all value chain players together for developing and adapting efficient ways of irrigation so that farmers stay on land and keep producing quality rice.

One of the key approach is to work directly or closely with farmers firstly to promote resource efficiency especially water efficiency for reducing cost of production, secondly to use certified seed as foundation for boosting crop productivity, purity & quality, thirdly the responsible use of approved pesticides for ensuring food safety through traceability (from farm to fork), fourthly to promote farm mechanization for mitigating labor shortage and enhancing farm efficiency and finally use of specialized rice harvesters for ensuring quality & minimizing harvest losses. Most of the rice is exported hence it’s very important to grow rice as per ever changing & increasing requirements of food safety through different standards like Sustainable Rice Platform(SRP) Standard of UNE & IRRI for global market.

In partnership with Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation & Westmill Foods, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods (ABF) & Grain Products Ltd; MARS food & RPL, Galaxy Rice has started to capacitate rice farmers for adoption of SRP standard. For improving water productivity in rice sector, Galaxy rice began to sensitize (PUSH) farmers on water efficient techniques, showcase water efficiency as a business model through incentivizing rice farmers (PULL) & ever-changing policy dialogue in Pakistan (PULL). Reshaping the future of water governance by promoting sustainable rice farming practices throughout the water sector by taking it from exploitation to efficient utilization of water. Integrating water efficiency with food safety in the rice value chain for providing an excellent opportunity for other rice millers to join and avail commercial advantage offered by the international buyers in addition to the fulfilment of changing EU regulations of food safety. Being a major player of rice business we are going to showcase this integration of water productivity and food safety in the guidance of SRP standard.