Seed system of Pakistan: Policy challenges and prospects

The seed industry in Pakistan has undergone significant developments since the 1950s and has transitioned from ‘Green Revolution’ to ‘Gene Revolution’. The 2015 amendment in the Seed Act, 1976, and the enactment of Plant Breeders’ Rights Act and Rules have provided long awaited intellectual property protection for proprietary seed. Notwithstanding this fundamental change, the challenge of effective enforcement of intellectual property rights remains. This paper presents how the seed industry has evolved over the years through evaluating the regulatory and institutional framework along with looking into the major challenges that still plague the seed system of Pakistan. It also explores how the private sector can be incentivized to invest in the seed sector while protecting the farmers’ rights. Findings reveal that there seems to be a lot of scope for strengthening the seed system of Pakistan via encouraging private sector participation mainly through developing proactive markets with strong institutional mechanism along with scientific and time bound regulatory approval framework. An appraisal of the international best practices divulges that technological backstopping, developing public-private partnerships, building institutional capacity for effective enforcement of regulatory regime and availability of information to farmers for selecting quality seed are equally vital for creating a well-functioning seed system in Pakistan

Promoting oil seed crops in Pakistan: Prospects and constraints

Oilseeds in Pakistan characterizes a policy failure as the production of oilseeds as well as edible oil has been on the decline despite various initiatives. The country has been augmenting growing demand-supply gap through imports since early 1970. The domestic production contributes only 13-15 percent of the total consumption while 85-87 percent is met through imports. Per capita consumption of vegetable oil has risen from 5.31 kg in 1973-74 to 20 kg in 2018 and is likely to move to 22 kg by 2028 projecting total consumption to 6.5 million tons by 2028 against current local production of less than 0.5 million tons, widening the demand-supply gap further. The import bill for these products has reached over US$4 billion in FY2021 which is straining the balance of trade and the balance of payment. With global uncertainties and challenges facing the oilseeds sector including the sharp price fluctuations and market instability and favorable tariffs for imports, the import bill is likely to move upward underscoring the need for well thought out policy and planning

A 2019-20 social accounting matrix for Balochistan, Pakistan

Prepared as part of the Technical Assistance to the Government of Balochistan in collaboration with Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering & Management Sciences (BUITEMS) and Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University (SBKWU), QuettaThis paper documents the different steps followed to construct Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Balochistan for the year 2019-20. More precisely, it describes the estimation methods and the nature of the data used in developing the SAM at the subnational level. The Balochistan SAM includes 13 production activities, 4 factors of production, 4 household groups and rest of the world account, assessing linkages between production, factor income distribution, and households’ incomes and expenditures, and capturing distributional effects. The Balochistan SAM reveals that the shares of services and manufacturing sector remains lower than national average and there is an overwhelming contribution of the livestock and horticulture sector in the subnational economy which has the potential in boosting national livestock and horticulture exports. Further, the consumption pattern in Balochistan supports Engle’s law of consumption showing that with an increase in households’ income, the share of expenditure on food decreases and consumption of non-food items increases. This paper is organized as follows. The first section presents an overview of Balochistan province of Pakistan. The second Section highlights the background of Social Accounting Matrix and its key features. The third section review the literature and various efforts made to develop Pakistan SAM with varying features. The fourth section describes the process and the methodology used to develop SAM. The fifth section presents the structure of Balochistan SAM, accounts, and data sources and elaborates the process and techniques used to balance Balochistan SAM. The sixth section highlights the structure of Balochistan’s economy and an evaluation of value addition. The seventh section underscores the key findings of Balochistan SAM. The final section underlines how the SAM Balochistan can contribute to evidence-based policy making that helps in economic growth and reducing poverty in Balochistan

Policy framework for contract farming: An alternate to Aarthi system in Pakistan

Global agricultural production is undergoing a remarkable shift due to globalization and market liberalization (Setboonsarng et al., 2008). Food markets are transforming from a ‘non-programmed to programmed’ regime stemming from overwhelming changes in demand patterns happening concurrently with variations in production dynamics internationally (Oostendorp, 2018). This presents both the challenge and opportunity to change and adapt to this more structured world to reap benefits for both smallholder farmers and exporters (Setboonsarng et al., 2008)

D-CARE: The Dementia Care Study: Design of a Pragmatic Trial of the Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of Health System-Based Versus Community-Based Dementia Care Versus Usual Dementia Care.

Background/objectivesAlthough several approaches have been developed to provide comprehensive care for persons living with dementia (PWD) and their family or friend caregivers, the relative effectiveness and cost effectiveness of community-based dementia care (CBDC) versus health system-based dementia care (CBDC) and the effectiveness of both approaches compared with usual care (UC) are unknown.DesignPragmatic randomized three-arm superiority trial. The unit of randomization is the PWD/caregiver dyad.SettingFour clinical trial sites (CTSs) based in academic and clinical health systems.ParticipantsA total of 2,150 English- or Spanish-speaking PWD who are not receiving hospice or residing in a nursing home and their caregivers.InterventionsEighteen months of (1) HSDC provided by a nurse practitioner or physician's assistant dementia care specialist who works within the health system, or (2) CBDC provided by a social worker or nurse care consultant who works at a community-based organization, or (3) UC with as needed referral to the Alzheimer's Association Helpline.MeasurementsPrimary outcomes: PWD behavioral symptoms and caregiver distress as measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) Severity and Modified Caregiver Strain Index scales.Secondary outcomesNPI-Q Distress, caregiver unmet needs and confidence, and caregiver depressive symptoms. Tertiary outcomes: PWD long-term nursing home placement rates, caregiver-reported PWD functional status, cognition, goal attainment, "time spent at home," Dementia Burden Scale-Caregiver, a composite measure of clinical benefit, Quality of Life of persons with dementia, Positive Aspects of Caregiving, and cost effectiveness using intervention costs and Medicare claims.ResultsThe results will be reported in the spring of 2024.ConclusionD-CARE will address whether emphasis on clinical support and tighter integration with other medical services has greater benefit than emphasis on social support that is tied more closely to community resources. It will also assess the effectiveness of both interventions compared with UC and will evaluate the cost effectiveness of each intervention