ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research Tuesday was informed that so far Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) had achieved 99 percent target for wheat procurement.
The committee was informed that wheat procurement target for the crop 2015 was 0.8 million metric tones and 100 percent Bardana had been issued to the farmers.
A summary regarding additional target of PASSCO upto 1.5 million metric tones was sent to Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet and the decision is still awaited.
The meeting of the committee was held here under the Chairmanship of Malik Shakir Bashir Awan, MNA to discuss the wheat procurement by the PASSCO in the seasons and a detailed discussion and briefing by the local tractors manufacturers and companies to the committee about the prices and spare parts of the tractors.
The Managing Director PASSCO, apprised the Committee that the Corporation was running with the mission to facilitate the Federal Government in its quest to ensure National Food Security by maintaining strategic reserves of wheat and other specified commodities.
PASSCO has 12 zones, 33 projects and 227 purchase centre all over the country through which the wheat and other specified agro bases commodities are being procured.
PASSCO is facing an amount of 67 millions in terms of wheat sale receivable and outstanding till date.
Twenty new godowns are also going to be established in near future and the total storage capacity of PASSCO is 0.431 million metric tones, the meeting was informed.
The Committee strongly recommended that the outstanding receivables of PASSCO shall be paid immediately by the specified agencies.
The Committee also suggested that silos should be constructed instead of godowns but the procurement should be made by PASSCO and as a result the purchase of bardana (gunny bags) would be reduced which would contribute a lot for the farms of procurement and bardana shall be enhanced and also the time shall be groomed and encouraged to create competition in this sector.
The displaying seminars of tractors industry shall also be organized in which the Committee would participate for its positive inputs.
Due to the shortage of time, the Committee decided that a separate meeting would be convened on the tractors manufacturing units in near future.
The meeting was attended by Capt (Retd) Muhammad Safdar, Chudhary Nazeer Ahmed, Choudhary Iftikhar Nazir, Mr. Tahir Iqbal Ch. Sayed Essa Nori, Rao Muhammad Ajmal Khan, Syed Iftikhar ul Hassan, Ms. Shahnaz Saleem, Pir Muhammad Aslam Bodla, Ms. Khalida Mansoor, Mr. Abdul Sattar Bachani, Pir Shafqat Hussain Jilani, Mr. Faqir Sher Muhammad Bilalani, Mr. Junaid Akbar and Dr. Fouzia Hameed, MNAs beside Minister for National Food Security and research, senior Officers from ministry of National Food, Security and Research, and Managing Director (PASSCO).
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