Agriculture and the Rural Economy in Pakistan

Can the Pakistan's agricultural sector and rural economy once again play a significant role in growth and development? Agriculture and the Rural Economy in Pakistan: Issues, Outlooks, and Policy Priorities identifies several measures that can promote agricultural productivity growth as well as wider economic and social development.

"This book has analyzed the challenges and evolution of the rural economy in impressive depth and breadth. The policy research reported in this book is relevant, actionable, practicable, tangible, and implementable and fully supports the vision of a prosperous Pakistan. I congratulate IFPRI, its Pakistan team, and all the researchers involved for putting together a detailed analysis of the agriculture sector and its role in the economy of Pakistan."—Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan's Planning Commission

"The book Agriculture and the Rural Economy in Pakistan: Issues, Outlooks, and Policy Priorities successfully traces the historical evolution of public policy on food security, agriculture, and the rural economy in Pakistan and provides a detailed analysis of the factors underlying the multidimensional nature of the current situation. The research-based insights and recommendations contained in this book are invaluable for researchers and policy makers in Pakistan. This book is a fine example of the International Food Policy Research Institute's mission to support countries with relevant policy research for effective decision making."—Sartaj Aziz, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

"Food insecurity is one of the most alarming problems facing developing countries today. It is also one of the most complex. Evidence-based policy research that can positively influence decision making to address this issue is the need of the hour. Fortunately, Agriculture and the Rural Economy in Pakistan: Issues, Outlooks, and Policy Priorities, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), meets this need by not only exposing the problem at hand but also offering solutions. This book is invaluable for Pakistan as it provides fresh insights into how agriculture and rural development can lead to rapid economic growth, food security, and poverty reduction."—Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, federal minister for food security and research

"Pakistan's Indus River basin is an extraordinary agricultural resource. This book documents how, when used properly with large investments and appropriate policies, agriculture brought rapid overall growth and poverty reduction. The wide-ranging, perceptive, quantitative, and qualitative analysis of this book has detailed, essential lessons, not only for Pakistan itself, but for all the stalled agricultural economies of much of Africa and select countries in Asia as well."—John W. Mellor, Cornell University