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Dozens of tree-planting campaigns have been launched across Pakistan over the past few years in an effort to curb deforestation and promote environmental sustainability. While these campaigns are laudable, many, such as the much-publicized “Billion Tree Tsunami,” have been marred by empty promises and inadequate planning, raising concerns about their long-term impact.
Perhaps, having learned from these mistakes, the government has set its sights on another green revolution, the Green Pakistan initiative under the umbrella of SIFC, which offers a promising opportunity to address these challenges and bring about a sustainable future for the country. As part of a wider monsoon tree planting programme, the Punjab Forest Department recently launched a massive seed dissemination drive in the hilly areas of Chakwal and Murree districts, planting three million trees in a single day.
At its core, the GPI is said to be a concerted effort to reform the country’s agricultural sector and reduce its heavy reliance on imports. With a focus on leveraging modern technology, combining land survey data with satellite imagery, the plan claims to identify and cultivate millions of acres of wasteland, offering a potential solution to Pakistan’s agricultural shortcomings. While this all sounds like a perfect solution, the authorities must ensure that they remain committed to building corporate agriculture while empowering local farmers.
The urgency of these initiatives cannot be overstated, as Pakistan’s agricultural sector faces severe shortfalls, with a huge gap between domestic production and the country’s food needs. Yet previous failed experiments have not adequately addressed the staggering scale of agricultural imports. Even if the GPI has the potential to bridge this gap, it must provide lasting solutions to the troubling problem of food insecurity. For example, a focus on the Cholistan desert could help implement smart farming techniques to improve agricultural wasteland and grow crops like wheat, thereby turning it into a food basket. How soon this can be accomplished will depend on how serious we are about realizing this dream.*
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