Pakistan Army taking over govt land for farming to boost food production: Report

Pakistan Army is planning to take over large swathes of land owned by the government to boost food production, Nikkei Asia has reported, amidst concerns over the all-powerful military’s growing presence in the functioning of the country.

The fact that the army, which has significant influence over politics and foreign policy of the country, now intends to mark its presence in the agricultural sector has triggered concerns.

According to the report, the army will acquire up to 1 million acres, or 405,000 hectares, of land in eastern Punjab province, which is three times the size of Delhi or about 5,500 times of Beijing's Forbidden City.

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The land is purportedly in the Cholistan Desert—an arid region prone to water shortages.

“As much as 110,000 acres of additional land for transfer is in adjacent districts,” Nikkei Asia reported citing the documents.

The land would be leased for up to 30 years, where the army is expected to grow cash crops such as wheat, cotton and sugarcane, as well as vegetables and fruit, with 20 per cent of any profit earmarked for farming research and development.

The rest would be divided equally between the army and state government, according to leaked government documents accessed by Nikkei Asia.

Pakistan army to takeover one million acres of farmland to boost food production

Army to become biggest landowner

Critics fear that the move could solidify the army’s status as the biggest landowner in Pakistan that could have otherwise been tasked to 25 million poor rural households.

There has been some resistance as the matter was heard in the Lahore High Court to halt the land transfer, but that ruling was overturned by another bench in July.

A small firm, Fongrow, has been tasked to oversee the farming in the barren lands.

Fongrow is part of an army conglomerate set up to provide employment for retired military personnel. According to its website, it has claimed to have developed a 2,250-acre corporate farm that grows cotton and corn in Punjab as a "test bed," with a 135 per cent boost to average crop yields.

It was unclear if any of the land to be transferred was already being farmed or controlled by small landowners, but Fongrow manager Muhammad Zahid Aziz disputed it was an issue.

"It is all barren land, so there is no question of farmers being displaced," he told Nikkei Asia.

Army says want to boost food production

In a press conference on April 25, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the director general of the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations, was asked about the corporate farming project. He said that food security was a challenge for Pakistan.

“In developing and developed countries their governments have used the military, in some way or the other, to improve the agriculture sector,” he said.

What role the military can play in making lands more cultivable was in the end the decision of the provincial and federal government, he added, according to a report in The News International website.

(With inputs from agencies)

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