LAHORE: Land inequality in Pakistan is causing poverty as the larger farmers’ income is 31 times more than the average income, said a report issued by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER).
The report “Profiles of Land Tenure System in Pakistan” has been authored by Dr Kaiser Bengali, senior economist and Advisor to Chief Minister Balochistan.
The inequality is indicated by the fact that, for 6 districts in 3 provinces, 88% of small farmers (holding less than 12.5% of land) own 49% of land and 1.5% of large farmers (holding more than 150 acres of land) own 8% of land.
The disparity has also imposed a state of chronic poverty for the landless, tenants and even the small farmers. The feudal-tribal order has ensured the continuation of patriarchy, which rules with an iron hand in rural Pakistan. Women have almost no freedom to make independent choices about socialization, health care, children’s education and marriage, voting and voting choice, and even cell phone use.
However, the level of conservatism varies with land size and pattern of tenure.” The study, first in many years, attempts to document the land tenure patterns as they currently exist in three provinces of Pakistan.
Covering 1,200 respondents (with equal representation of male and female), the study records the disparity in incomes, food consumption, housing quality, impact of floods, indebtedness, and treatment of women in different categories of landowning and non-landowning classes.
The conclusions are intended to guide the political debate regarding land issues towards more nuanced directions.
