Ayesha Saba

Massive urbanisation creates imbalance in the entire system, which can be avoided if rural populations are equipped with a wide range of skills to easily switch from agriculture and farm labour towards skilled jobs. Dr Muhammad Ali Talpur, Economic Consultant and Researcher at National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, told WealthPK that the majority of the country's population is dependent, directly or indirectly, on agro-economy.

“Disruption in this sector has caused the entire cycle to break down, resulting in a mass exodus from rural to urban areas in search of work and better livelihood,” he said. “Due to exponential growth of urban cities, the government is finding it difficult to govern efficiently and effectively. Governments, if able to provide livelihood opportunities to people right where they live, in this case in rural areas, will not need to move to cities,” he said.

Dr Talpur mentioned that some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are already working on equipping people with new skills, although on a small scale. Pak Rural Development Program (PRDP) is a well-established non-profit NGO operating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the Federal Tribal Administration. There still, however, remains a vast gap that the government needs to fulfil in order to overcome the issue.”

He suggested that there are several areas where the rural population can be imparted skills. “In this technological era, rural people are still dependent on the old ways of crop cultivation and livestock farming. There is no advancement, making the products uncompetitive resulting in farmers losing their market share, as well as earning a decreased profit margin.”

He added that “the increase of literacy rate in rural areas especially in agriculture education is the need of the time. The more educated the farmers are, the better the results will be.” “They need to be taught technologically advanced methods of farming such as drip irrigation, use of sprinklers and hydroponics. Other than that, farmers should be educated with better breeding techniques so that their livestock could grow, this would make it more profitable for the farmer,” he said.

The researcher said that in recent years, exponential growth has been witnessed in investment in the construction sector due to CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor). In the absence of skilled human capital, this sector has to import its requirements from other countries. He said if skilled labour was available, this opportunity could have been exploited in a befitting manner. “If the rural population is imparted construction-related skills, they would have better chances to secure a well-paid job,” he said.

Currently, the government has to bear the burden of the unemployed population through monthly or quarterly cash disbursements. Programs like the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) and the Prime Minister’s Ehsaas Program are significant steps towards uplifting the rural community. “If the same amount is spent to educate the individuals with new skills, it would be a long-term investment as the skills would be useful for them for a lifetime. It would also reduce burden on the government exchequer,” he added.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk