By Muhammad Mudassar ISLAMABAD, Feb. 24 (INP-WealthPK): The world population has reached 7.9 billion in 2021 from just 1.9 billion in 1915, leading to a phenomenal increase in the demand for food, according to World Bank. Furthermore, according to Harvard Business Review, it is expected that the food demand will increase by 59% to 98% by 2050, but due to the gap between supply and demand, the problem of food insecurity is getting more pronounced. So, there is an urgent need to increase agricultural production through innovative technologies. Farmers can get a high return by using different modern techniques like tunnel farming and growing different off-season crops throughout the year. Tunnel farming is an important agriculture technique that has grown popular all over the world. Pakistan is also introducing this technique to overcome three pressing problems, water scarcity, low yield, and low value of crop production. Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Gujranwala, and Okara are the districts in the Punjab province where tunnel farming has been introduced. As tunnel farming is done under controlled conditions, it can help save the use of water by 60%. Tunnel farming also uses less fertilizer and pesticides, which means soil fertility is maintained for longer periods. “The output of vegetables has increased by 8% to 10% under tunnel farming,” said assistant director of agriculture information at media liaison unit, Multan, Naveed Asmat Kahloon. “Increased agriculture production leads to a reduction in poverty, employment generation in the farm and non-farm sectors, a decrease in the prices of food items that helps minimize food insecurity and contributes to the country's economy in terms of gross domestic product and exports.” According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the country fetched $345.9 million in the fiscal year 2021-22 by exporting vegetables and fruits. According to World Health Organization, the vegetable intake requirement in Pakistan is 400 grams per person per day. According to Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, there are three major types of tunnel farms, namely high tunnel, walk-in tunnel, and low tunnel, depending on the type of crop. Tunnel farming protects the crops from extreme weather conditions, and minimizes the probability of diseases spread by rainfall and splashing water, such as bacterial spots on tomatoes and pepper. However, due to the small number of storage facilities, the farmers have to sell their produce at very low prices because of abundant availability of other seasonal crops in the market. One of the major obstacles in the adoption of tunnel farming is the high initial installation costs, as poor farmers cannot afford to bear the cost of setting up such farms. So, the government should help the farmers in this regard by offering them inputs at subsidized rates. The farmers should also be guided on how to ensure proper placement of the tunnel to enable it to get proper sunlight and wind movement. Increased air movement reduces humidity and chances of disease development. The farmers should also be provided with disease-resistant seeds at a reasonable price, as most seeds can carry bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens that negatively affect crop production. Private investment can be attracted to establish cold storage chains to assist the farmers. Further, crop rotation can also help return healthy nutrients into the soil without any synthetic input. The farmers should be educated through seminars and training sessions on how to make the best use of tunnel farming.