KARACHI: Chairman of National Business Group of FPCCI and President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, Mian Zahid Hussain has said that less involvement of the government in the agriculture sector has not only damaged it but put the farmers at the mercy of middlemen and loan sharks.

Increased involvement of the private players have reduced production, farmers are not paid their due share while the masses are forced to buy food at very high price prompting them to compromise on health and education.

He said that agriculture sector cannot be revived if the welfare of the farmer is not included in the plans as their role is central to food security.

He said that the former government focused on roads, mass transit and the power sector while the incumbent government is focusing on the construction sector but agriculture sector is not getting due attention.

He said coronavirus has pushed global hunger to new heights. Mian Zahid Hussain said that people are falling below the poverty line but proper steps are not being taken to lift them out of poverty.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021