Karachi, July 4, 2019: Emergency Agriculture Program by the Federal Ministry of National Food Security & Research & Advisor to the Prime Minister on Agriculture Jehangir Tareen for uplifting the Agriculture sector by resolving the issues of the sector, All Pakistan Fruit & Vegetable Exporters , Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) has welcomed this timely initiative which would play a pivotal role for sustenance of economy of the country on durable foundations.
According to Patron-in-Chief of the Association, Waheed Ahmed, the Federal Govt. has also announced the allocation of fund of Rs. 309 billion which would be spent on the development of Agriculture, Livestock, Horticulture and Fisheries. The Agriculture sector is confronted with serious challenges of Climatic Change, Scarcity of water and high cost of production resulting in low yield per acre besides financial losses to the growers, Waheed further deplored.
These issues can be tackled effectively by the use of modern techniques. To attain high yield per acre on farms’ level we need to simultaneously grow conventional and value-added crops which are not possible to achieve without comprehensive and ambitious Research & Development – Waheed added.
Waheed welcoming announcement on the formulation of Agricultural Consultative Council as an essential and timely step by Govt. of Pakistan anticipated that this council would certainly assist in the revival of the Agriculture sector. The sector is engulfed with Pre & post-harvest issues needs definite improvement in the entire process of supply chain and reduction in the cost of production and thus there is a dire need to address these problems through consultation with experts of the sectors to get desired results.
To get this sector out of the present serious crises which are due to huge losses for decades, it’s imperative to formulate a consultative council comprising of Agriculture Universities, Research institutions, growers and technological experts which can steer this sector, being the backbone of the economy out of this deplorable state.
Elaborating further, Waheed said that this emergency Agriculture program is a true replica of his “Pakistan Horticulture Vision – 2030”. With the enhancement in production of fruits & vegetables the jin of high price hike can be pushed back in the bottle leading to an impressive increase in the rate of growth of the GDP and in accordance with International demands, the surplus production can fetch much needed substantial valuable foreign exchange through enhanced exports.
With the promotion of modern trends in the Agriculture sector, the export of Agriculture and livestock sectors can be enhanced to USD 25 billion alone. To attain this objective , it’s imperative that the draft policy titled “Pakistan Horticulture vision -2030” developed as a result of extensive consultations with stakeholders of all the provinces and extensive research work which dishes out short, medium and long term targets along with recommendations to address issues of the sector will prove to be very supportive for the GOP.
Waheed Ahmed emphasized on National Food Security and Research to get a consultation from Vision – 2030 to make policies and ensure representation of PFVA in Agriculture Council so in combined the objective of Agriculture revolution can be achieved.
The Association (PFVA) has recently sent a letter to the Federal Ministry of National Food Security and Research offering services of PFVA to the Emergency Agriculture council stressing the need to make this council active.
