LAHORE: Stakeholders welcoming the ‘Green Pakistan Initiative’ have said that for the first time the government, the army and all institutions concerned are on the same page with the focus to develop agriculture to attain food security, reduce imports and increase exports.
Engr. Jawed Aslam Qureshi, an agri-business expert, while talking to the Business Recorder, said for the first time, there was a political will for improving agriculture with the backing of army. He stated that the goal of all stakeholders was to achieve food security. However, he proposed that the country had to achieve seed security first to achieve the ultimate destination of food security.
He said the launch of LIMS and the seminar arranged by the stakeholders had lit a light of hope. He said the government had also allocated Rs 1.4 trillion and distributed it to different sections of the agricultural sector with a view to making Pakistan the food basket of the region. He welcomed the fact that the government was targeting a big share of the US $60 billion UAE market.
He said that Pakistan, to reach its destination, should bring potent seeds from all those countries that were at the top of the list of different crops. Agriculture Republic Co-founder Aamer Hayyat Bhandara said that the program launched by the government and the army was aimed at increasing agricultural exports, promoting corporate farming, tackling climate change to increase food productivity, and using wasteland for agriculture.
He hoped that these initiatives would generate employment in rural areas, thus leading to prosperity and ensuring sustainable agriculture in the country. He said that international and national collaboration would not only promote corporate farming but also help small growers by including them in these initiatives.
Farmers Associate Pakistan Director Abad-ur-Rehman welcomed the program and stated that it was in good hands this time.
He hoped that now agriculture would really be focused and opportunities for investment would emerge. He said this project would create wealth, which would lead to the prosperity of those attached to this sector, and they would be able to reinvest for more productivity and profitability.
He complained that not all the organizations representing growers were taken into confidence while planning this program. He stated that no political ownership was perceived because only one political party was present at the time of launch, and that party had a poor track record in the agricultural sector.
He also stated that the timing was incorrect, as it should have been launched once the new government took office. He also said that it was not clear how this project would be implemented, what rules and regulations would govern it, and how all the stakeholders would get opportunities.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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