ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister has declared the welfare of farmers as the top priority of the government and has issued instructions to formulate a plan to increase agricultural exports.
A meeting of a working group based on private sector experts formed to increase the country’s agricultural exports and harmonize the agricultural sector with international requirements was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in which he said that reforms in the agricultural sector and introducing farmers to modern methods prevalent at the global level are the top priority of the government.
The Prime Minister said that along with reforms within its scope in the agricultural sector, the federal government is taking steps for the development of agriculture in collaboration with the provincial governments. He clarified that steps are being taken to provide quality seeds to farmers, timely fertilizers at reasonable prices and medicines to prevent diseases in crops to increase per acre production.
He said that steps are being taken at the policy level to produce export-worthy goods through the processing of agricultural commodities.
The Prime Minister said that recently, 1,000 Pakistani students have been sent to China at government expense for training in modern agricultural technology. Pakistan has a huge potential for the development of the agricultural sector and investment is being made in research for the development of agriculture within the existing resources so that it is possible to increase the production per acre.
Shahbaz Sharif also directed to take steps to increase the exports of fisheries, fruits and products made from them, formulate and present policy measures for the production of palm oil on the coastal belt and formulate a comprehensive action plan to increase agricultural exports in the next 5 years.
In the meeting, Chairman Working Group Rana Naseem and his team presented a comprehensive report on the country’s agricultural sector, in which a detailed briefing was given on the problems faced by the sector and the future action plan.
The meeting chaired by the Prime Minister was attended by Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Dr. Mosaddiq Malik, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar and relevant senior officials. The meeting was presented with a detailed comparative review of major Rabi and Kharif crops in the country, their average yield per acre, horticulture and fruit production and exports, animal husbandry, dairy sector and all agriculture-related sectors at the regional and global levels.
The meeting was informed that under the short-term reform framework, Pakistan’s current average yield per acre will be increased within existing resources, for which the federal government will provide quality seeds, policy measures and effective extension services in cooperation with provincial governments and farmers will be made aware of modern agricultural practices.
The participants were further informed that the federal government will work on a certification regime for the processing of agricultural commodities, which will increase the profits of farmers by ensuring value addition of agricultural commodities and their products in the global markets.
The meeting was also presented with a comprehensive action plan on the reforms of research institutions, under which not only the production of existing crops will be increased but also the cultivation of new and profitable crops according to the climate and soil of Pakistan will be encouraged.
The Prime Minister, appreciating the detailed briefing given by the working group, directed to prepare a feasible, effective and comprehensive roadmap and include it in the recommendations of government reforms.