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Corporate Farming

Corporate farming question

Grave concern is being expressed over the haste with which the government is moving to introduce corporate farming in the country. Brushing aside all objections to what is a highly controversial proposal, the government seems determined to rush through amendments in the Constitution that would allow foreign individuals and corporations to own an unlimited amount of land for this purpose. This would create a strange anomaly, as there is a ceiling for holdings by Pakistani farmers under the Land Reforms Act of 1977. The decision to promote corporate farming has been taken without initiating a proper debate among the various stakeholders. It is important to tread cautiously on this issue because it will have far-reaching implications for the economy and social structure of the rural areas. Proponents of the scheme argue that corporate farming will encourage foreign investment and boost the traditionally low yield from agriculture by bringing in new technologies and high-yielding varieties of seed and other inputs. They believe that the fragmented nature of landholdings and archaic agricultural practices are to blame for low productivity. By cultivating large tracts of land, foreign corporations will achieve economies of scale and make farming more efficient and profitable. 

Critics, however, claim that corporate farming will hand over a vital sector of the economy to foreign interests who are likely to grow crops to maximize profits and ignore the food needs of the rural populace. The move could also strengthen the hands of large landholders who could form partnerships with foreign corporations and further consolidate their hold. In that sense, corporate farming could usher in a new kind of feudalism through the backdoor. It could also pauperize small farmers, forcing them to sell their lands and become tenants or migrate to the cities. To transform farming from a largely subsistence activity to an export- and profit-oriented endeavour is a major task that could endanger the food security of large numbers of people and provoke a political and social backlash. There are already large numbers of landless tenants in the country who are demanding that state lands be distributed to them. The government's decision to hand over precious lands to foreigners is likely to open up a pandora's box that is best left shut at least until a new parliament is in place.