According to Ayesha Iftikhar who works in food rights issues, the government had already slashed farm subsidies in keeping with its international trade commitments. She feared that corporate farming would mean the end for small farmers who cannot compete with ''highly sophisticated and mechanised multinational companies.'' More than 80 per cent of Pakistani farmers own less than two hectares of land. Pakistan is already facing a situation where small farmers, unable to produce enough to support their livelihoods, are abandoning farming in search of urban employment. This situation will only aggravate,'' said Iftikhar. Without induction of new technology in the country's stagnant agriculture, neither the burgeoning food demands can be met nor can the country compete in the world markets,'' he asserted.
Companies invest only in economically viable business ventures.
If they find more profits in cash crops, they will invest in cash crops,'' said consumer rights activist, Tahir Mehdi. We cannot stop the process of globalisation, but it doesn't mean that the state should forget people's interests,'' said Sarwar Bari of the Pattan Development Foundation that works in the countryside of southern Punjab province. Bari said that NGOs working in Pakistan's villages would launch a campaign to rally farmers against the government's decision. The advanced state of decay of agricultural infrastructure and the generic perception of Pakistan being an unstable country will mean that the country's risk rating will remain high. This will surely apply to agriculture also,'' he explained.