Former Vice President of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industries (FPCCI) Fehmida Jamali has condemned the withdrawal of the subsidy on per bag fertilizer of Rs 400 by the Ministry of National Food & Security (MNSFR).
Fehmida Jamali said farmers were already suffering the lack of policies and that move would further hit the farm sector, adding "I don't see any logic in this regard that why the ministry discontinued this subsidy with immediate effect, despite the fact farmers got some relief on urea and DAP by the government."
Fehmida said "we must realise that agriculture sector is still the foundation of Pakistan's economy, it is changing in terms of both structure and composition; its share in country's total output and its capacity to drive growth and development are diminishing."
In the last eight years, agricultural growth had remained at the average of 2.1 percent while recently it had dipped to 1.6 percent, she said, adding it was evident of the apathy of the policymakers. She said reduced production had resulted in poverty in the rural areas and had widened the gap between the rich and the poor.
She further said that policies of the government had pushed farmers to prefer low cost crops over high value crops, adding that different packages announced for the farmers had failed to achieve the desired results. Jamali further said Pakistan was famous for its milk production and the number of cattle was increasing but productivity of milk, beef and mutton had been stagnant since long.
She was of the view that livestock was crucial for poverty reduction and food security along with an improvement in human health, but majority of the people engaged in that business were not part of the formal economy and that had proved to be an obstacle in their development.
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