Experts call for a shift from calorie to nutrition security at the consultation on sustainable food systems in Pakistan
KARACHI, Experts, policymakers, and development practitioners have emphasized the urgent need to transform Pakistan’s food system from a calorie-focused approach to a nutrition-sensitive and climate-resilient model to ensure sustainable and healthy diets for the population.
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) is conducting a series of consultations for United Nations Resident Coordinator Office, FAO, UNICEF, WFP, WHO and IFAD on “Integrated Roadmap for Sustainable Food Systems Transformation in Pakistan” which is a UN Joint SDG Fund Programme. The consultations aim to bring together government officials, researchers, development partners and civil society representatives to deliberate on strategies for aligning food production, consumption and governance with nutritional and sustainability goals.
Opening the discussion, Dr. Sajid Amin, Deputy Executive Director SDPI, said the dialogue aimed to identify policy pathways to transform Pakistan’s food system so that it ensures both food security and improved nutrition outcomes. He noted that the consultation was designed to gather expert input to refine policy proposals and develop actionable recommendations.
Sitara Gill, Economist FAO, representing the programme secretariat, provided the background of the initiative. She said the programme seeks to enhance the availability of nutritious and healthy food while promoting dietary diversity and strengthening food security across Pakistan.
Citing analytical work conducted by FAO experts Dr. Lynnette Neufeld and Dr. David Laborde, she highlighted a significant mismatch between the country’s food supply and the nutritional requirements recommended in food-based dietary guidelines.
According to the analysis there is a clear misalignment between Pakistan’s food supply and the requirements for healthy diets. Certain food categories are available in excess of dietary needs, particularly grains and cereals, fats and oils and sugar while nutritionally important food groups such as fruits and vegetables fall significantly short of dietary requirements. Despite sufficient calorie supply, nutrition indicators remain alarming: 40.2 percent of children under five are stunted, 28.9 percent underweight, and 17.7 percent wasted, while 24.3 percent of the population faces moderate or severe food insecurity.
She also noted that 43 percent of women of reproductive age suffer from anemia, and only 27.6 percent meet minimum dietary diversity requirements.
Ms. Gill stressed that dietary patterns are increasingly shifting toward highly processed foods, with sales of sweets, snacks, and similar products nearly doubling over the past 12 years, indicating an urgent need for policy interventions that promote healthier consumption patterns.
Dr. Imran Khalid, presenting a political economy analysis of Pakistan’s food system, said national food policy remains heavily centered on wheat and sugar, with insufficient focus on sustainability, nutrition, and resilience. He pointed out that powerful interest groups such as large landowners, mill owners, traders, and fertilizer lobbies often benefit from the current system and resist reforms that could diversify agriculture and improve nutrition outcomes.
He explained that structural challenges include weak coordination between federal and provincial institutions, limited transparency in food data, and rapid turnover of key bureaucratic officials, which often leads to a risk-averse policy environment. Dr. Imran recommended shifting the government’s role from being a dominant market buyer to a regulator ensuring fair pricing and transparency, while prioritizing nutrition and climate-smart agriculture.
Dr. Mazhar Iqbal, Nutrition Specialist at UNICEF emphasized the need to place women and children at the center of food system transformation, particularly during the first thousand days of life when nutrition interventions have the greatest impact. He noted that malnutrition in Pakistan is closely linked to food insecurity, lack of dietary diversity, and micronutrient deficiencies.
Another participant, Dr. Mukhtiar Hussain National Campaign Coordinator WHO-Pakistan, highlighted the importance of community-level behavioural change, noting that many households spend significant amounts on tea and sugary beverages instead of nutritious food. He stressed that awareness campaigns through media and public outreach are essential to encourage healthier food choices.
Farah Ateeq from the Quality Research and Advisory Council drew attention to governance gaps, noting that the Council of Common Interests should play a stronger role in coordinating federal and provincial policies related to food security. She also pointed to the impact of global shocks such as export restrictions during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which affected Pakistan’s food imports and affordability.
Presenting a fiscal policy perspective, Dr. Asim Basheer explained that food system transformation must be understood within Pakistan’s constrained fiscal environment.
He highlighted that social protection spending, including the Benazir Income Support Programme, accounts for about 0.3 percent of GDP, while provincial social protection allocations remain minimal at around 0.1 percent of GDP.
Dr. Asim recommended reforms such as redirecting subsidies toward nutrition-sensitive interventions, introducing taxes on sugary and trans-fat foods, reducing taxes on nutritious food items and integrating dietary diversity indicators into social protection databases.
The final presentation by Dr. Babar Shahbaz outlined a proposed Integrated Food System Transformation Plan for Pakistan, built around five reform pillars: nutrition-sensitive food environments, climate-resilient diversification, value-chain and post-harvest improvements, a “One Health” approach linking human, animal and environmental health, and data-driven governance.
He noted that while Pakistan produces sufficient cereals and ranks among the world’s major producers of wheat and milk, the country faces a paradox of “calorie abundance but nutrition deficit.” Production of fruits, vegetables and pulses remains far below dietary needs, contributing to high levels of malnutrition and food insecurity.
Dr. Babar proposed policy measures such as regulating the marketing of ultra-processed foods, banning unhealthy products in school canteens, promoting crop diversification and strengthening storage and cold-chain infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses.
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