Food demand supply and nutrition planning implications for Pakistan

It allows for the evaluation of the impact of many policies which are currently accepted in principle for both food production and consumption. It also provides a measure of the impact of other policies which might be of future interest, for instance, modification in land tenure. In seeking to improve the welfare of a population the focusing on economic growth alone can be misleading. This paper seeks to focus on nutrient intake of various classes as a norm of welfare. Various distributional aspects of consumption and some features of the class structure of production are incorporated into the analysis. This permits some evaluation of the direct and distributional impact of a range of policies. The preliminary results suggest that Pakistan should emphasize stimulation of agriculture by increased availability of water, fertilizer, and modernization. Policies should be introduced to improve tenurial arrangements for the poorer members of the agricultural sector and improve some form of food coupon system for the landless poor. The analysis supports the beneficial role of ration shops especially for targeting the urban poor. Indications are that a policy mix of this sort should effect a significant increase in protein-calorie intake within the next five years in Pakistan.