Agricultural Development and Food Security(The Allama Iqbal Memorial Lecture)

It is always a pleasure for me to participate in these annualmeetings. The knowledge and the talent displayed are immense. Thequality of discussion is high. I had never thought however that I wouldhave the honor of delivering the Aalama Iqbal lecture. To prepare forthis lecture I read extensively from Iqbal’s poetry. Of course I read intranslation, but even so I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the ideasand the expression. My search for an apt couplet or set of lines forthis paper was in vain. Iqbal was speaking to his people and although hewas expansive in his view of society, it is still not meant for me tocarry the word of Iqbal to you. Nevertheless I do display at thebeginning of this paper three lines from Iqbal. He is clear on theimportance of doing for oneself and for ones country. At least in themodern world ones efforts are so much more productive if governmentprovides a favourable environment for individual effort. And he wouldembrace the brotherhood of mankind, leaving some potential for us tohelp each other. He was very clear that learning from the West wasdesirable, and he was very selective about that—science and technologyin particular. My paper is about what government must do, andspecifically the government of Pakistan must do, to create anenvironment in which not just a few gather dew but in which all peoplegather dew. As soon as ones concern encompasses the bulk of thepopulation food security comes to the fore. My paper can be seen asaddressing how all rural people can gather the dew. It has a prominentplace for science and technology.