(Reprinted here with permission from the author.)
PAKISTAN’S agriculture sector is both a victim and a driver of climate change. From floods in Sindh to prolonged dry spells in Balochistan, our farming communities are already living on the front lines of a changing climate. Yet, while farmers are paying the price for global warming, agriculture also contributes significantly to Pakistan’s greenhouse gas emissions through the use of fertilisers and pesticides, livestock methane and soil degradation.
The Pakistan Climate Change Policy 2021, an update of the 2012 framework, rightly emphasises the need for adaptation, including the development of heat-tolerant crop varieties, improved livestock breeds and digital simulation models to predict climate impacts. These measures are vital for coping with immediate risks. But there is a fundamental limitation — adaptation alone is not enough.
To secure our agricultural future and align with global climate commitments, Pakistan’s policy must move decisively beyond adaptation to embrace mitigation — actions that actually reduce emissions and restore the land’s natural carbon balance.
The 2021 climate change policy includes several measures that sound promising: promoting better fertiliser management, biogas systems, improved cattle breeds, and methane control in rice paddies. These indeed have some mitigation value. But in essence, they represent incremental efficiency improvements within the same industrial-agriculture model.
What is missing is a transformational vision — a move away from chemical-intensive monocultures and fossil-fuel dependency towards a more ecological, regenerative, and low-carbon farming system.
The policy’s focus on ‘better management practices’ or ‘new breeds’ risks entrenching dependence on industrial inputs and imported technologies, rather than strengthening local systems of resilience and sustainability.
If Pakistan is serious about agricultural mitigation, agroecology must take centre stage. Agroecology is not just an organic or low-input method; it is a scientific and social approach that integrates ecological principles into farming — recycling nutrients, enhancing biodiversity, restoring soil health, and eliminating chemical dependency.
An agroecological system emits less methane and nitrous oxide, increases soil carbon sequestration, and uses energy far more efficiently. Importantly, it empowers small farmers and peasant women — the true custodians of our food systems — through knowledge and collective action, not dependence on expensive inputs.
Countries such as India, Brazil, and Kenya have already begun linking agroecological transitions with climate mitigation targets. Pakistan, too, can take this path, but it requires a bold policy realignment. The current policy does not adequately recognise the soil as a carbon sink, nor does it propose mechanisms to measure or reward soil carbon sequestration. It also overlooks agroforestry, compost systems, and cover crops, which can dramatically cut emissions while improving fertility.
Moreover, by emphasising ‘high-yield’ breeds and ‘climate-smart’ technologies, the policy risks sidelining indigenous knowledge systems and traditional seed diversity, both of which are vital for ecological balance and long-term resilience. Pakistan needs an integrated framework where climate, agriculture, biodiversity, and rural development policies work in harmony, and not in separate silos.
A genuine climate mitigation strategy for agriculture would include:
— A national programme for agroecological transition, supported by training, research, and incentives.
— Reduction targets for synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use, replaced by composting and biofertiliser systems.
— Large-scale agroforestry and cover cropping initiatives to increase carbon sinks.
— Support for farmer-led innovation, local seed systems, and gender-inclusive soil management.
— Access to climate finance for low-emission farming initiatives.
Such a transformation would not only cut emissions but also revitalise rural economies, restore biodiversity, and ensure food sovereignty for generations to come. Pakistan’s climate change policy urgently needs to move beyond the language of adaptation and efficiency towards a vision of ecological regeneration and carbon reduction. Agroecology provides that path — one that is rooted in local realities, grounded in science, and aligned with the global imperative of climate action.
The future of our food systems — and our planet — depends on how courageously we make that shift today.
The writer is an educationist, agroecologist and a development activist.
