Incentives vs Rewards: Who’s Really Benefiting from Agri Support? | Ep 4 | Junaid Iqbal

Описание: Pakistan gives billions in subsidies and tax breaks to agriculture — but what’s the return?
From cheap gas for fertilizer to subsidized electricity, 0% sales tax on inputs, and support prices for wheat and sugar — the agriculture sector enjoys massive state support. Yet, small farmers remain poor, food inflation is soaring, and we’re still importing wheat and cooking oil.

In this episode of Pakistan & Counting, Junaid Iqbal exposes how decades of incentives have failed to boost productivity or food security — and why it's time to rethink who really benefits from this broken system.

In this episode Junaid covers:
1- The $3–5 billion incentive structure propping up Pakistan’s agri sector
2- Why elite landowners benefit more than poor farmers
3- The massive tax gap: agri contributes 0.1% of taxes but employs 37% of the workforce
4- Why food inflation is worse in Pakistan than India and Bangladesh
5- What reforms are urgently needed — and what’s blocking them

Thank you to Syngenta Pakistan for supporting Pakistan & Counting.

Timestamps:
00:00 - 00:30 | Intro: Agricultural Sector’s Dependence on Government
00:30 - 02:00 | Parliament’s Composition: 65% MPs Linked to Large Farmholders
02:00 - 03:30 | Fertilizer Subsidies: Cheap Gas & Tax Exemptions
03:30 - 05:00 | Downstream Issues: Dealer Margins & Low Tax Collection
05:00 - 06:30 | Water Subsidies: Irrigation Rates & Abyana System
06:30 - 08:00 | Energy Subsidies: Tube Well Electricity & Solar Incentives
08:00 - 09:30 | Inefficient Govt. Departments & Support Prices (Wheat/Sugar)
09:30 - 10:30 | Taxation: 0% Federal Tax on Agriculture vs. Other Sectors
10:30 - 11:30 | Economic Disparities: GDP, Labor, and Tax Contributions
11:30 - 12:30 | Food Security Failures: Imports & High Inflation
12:30 - 13:30 | Productivity & Inequity: Poor Yields & Small Farmers’ Struggles
13:30 - 14:04 | Conclusion: Need for Modernization & Free Market Reforms

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