KARACHI: Waheed Ahmed, former chairman of All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association Saturday said that the federal government has ignored the challenges being faced by the agricultural sector in the federal budget for the fiscal year 2022-23.

While commenting on the federal budget, he said that Pakistan is one of the top countries severely affected by climate change which has a direct impact on the agricultural sector. Some 30 percent reduction in the budget to encounter stiff challenges of the climatic change is highly concerning. Fund Rs.10 billion to combat challenges of climate change is inadequate, he added.

“There is need to impose agricultural emergency to develop agricultural sector on war footings in the country, otherwise the concerns posed to Pakistan’s food security could become an alarming threat to national food security,” he warned.

Waheed further informed that due to climatic effects and water scarcity, mango production is facing 50 percent decline this season as well as production of other major crops and fruits and vegetables are also badly affected.

In addition, the increase in the cost of the agricultural sector is the biggest problem of the farmers which is affecting the production of important commodities and crops at the national level.

He said that due to the depreciation of the rupee and rising prices in the international market, the price of seeds has exceptionally gone up along with the cost of fertilizers, pesticides, electricity and agricultural machinery.

Rising agricultural costs are pushing up the prices of commodities, while domestic crop productions are on decline leading to high inflation, he further elaborated.

He said that the government has increased the sales tax rate on fertilizers which is a matter of concern. A special relief package is required to reduce the production cost of the agricultural sector so that foreign exchange can be earned by exporting agricultural commodities while meeting the domestic demands.

Waheed urged all the political parties to formulate a long-term agricultural policy in the country by mobilizing the resources of the federation and the provinces to modernize the agriculture sector which is the backbone of our national economy. The agriculture sector should be developed on modern lines and through extensive research and development (R&D), quality seeds should be developed that can withstand the ill-effects of the climatic change, he demanded.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022