R&D conundrum choking Pakistan's exports
Pakistan, like most developing nations, is locked in a paradox. In theory at least, innovation driven by robust research and development could be the key to breaking it out of a vicious debt and deficit-ridden cycle.
Indeed, economists the world over constantly exhort third world governments to spend more on R&D in order to cure their flagging economies. As emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and 3D printing usher in what many see as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, that investment could be the difference between market leaders and losers of the future.
Yet, preoccupied as they are with seemingly more 'pressing' challenges, developing countries have far less resources and capability to invest in R&D. In Pakistan in particular, many experts now sound jaded and hoarse when the topic is even broached.
Take the agriculture sector. In 2021 most farmers still rely on legacy techniques. And in the face of ever-increasing threats from climate change, the produce they cultivate is still grown from seed varieties developed decades ago.
To quote just one example, Pakistan's kinnow, which counts itself among the country's top exports, has been struggling with both viral diseases and pest infestations for quite some time. Meanwhile, seedless varieties have already hit overseas markets, souring prospects for our local varieties. Pakistan's inability to adapt and produce new breeds of the fruit are severely hurting the sector.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), Pakistan's gross domestic expenditure on R&D was 0.24% of GDP in 2017, a level that has remained unchanged since 2015. In contrast, its neighbours to the east and west have been able to dedicate a far greater share to R&D, with India spending 0.7% of its GDP and Iran spending 0.8% in 2017.
Shedding light on this predicament, All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) Patron-in-Chief Waheed Ahmed lamented that there had been no development in kinnows and no new varieties were being worked on. "For the past 10 years, we have been repeatedly asking research institutes to work on this product and bring in new varieties," he complained. "We are forced to cultivate the same product that we grew sixty years ago."
Waheed pointed out that there had been a persistent decline in the quality of kinnow over the years. "But still, there has been no focus on research and our pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears. No attention has been paid to R&D over the past decade and a half, and it is only a matter of time before the sector faces disaster," he said.
Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) Vice President Mahmood Nawaz Shah echoed the views of the PPVA patron-in-chief, stressing that R&D was integral to each stage of agriculture. "From production to post-harvesting and later packaging, it is a necessary requirement, he said. "It is even required for seed development, but unfortunately there is a general weakness in every area."
According to Shah, apart from wheat, Pakistan does not have any seeds of its own for its major commodities. "We have local seeds for wheat that were launched a while ago and we have some in the pipeline as well. But not so for other major crops like sugar, cotton, rice and maize," he noted. "We import 99% of the seeds for these crops." Lack of R&D and innovation has led to a dire situation for Pakistani agriculture, the SAB official said.
"The sector has to bear 30% to 35% losses in pre and post-harvest stages because there is no awareness how to best handle produce and what technology to use.