Karachi: Federal Secretary Ministry of Commerce Zafar Mehmood said the government should privatize or outsource the agricultural research and seed development programs in order to get maximum benefits for this much-neglected sector.
Similarly the Utility Stores Corporation should also be privatized for better supply chain scenario in the country, as they have huge spread and they will be quite much help to the farmer.
Speaking as a chief guess,  at the Pakistan Agri Conference held here in Karachi Expo Centre on Saturday, he stressed the need of revolution in the agriculture sector of the country, adding the government is spending a lot on the agricultural research and seed development programs since long, but now there is a need that the government should give these programs to the private sector for much better outputs.
‘We have neglected value addition in the agriculture sector, and agri extension series of the provincial governments are not available to the poor farmer,’ he said, adding that the role of provincial governments in agri exports is minimal. ‘The land records should be computerized and traditional old system should be abolished, so that the farmer can spend his time on increasing the productivity of its lands instead of tackling land record issues,’ he added.
‘Also, efficient infrastructure development in the sector has also been neglected, and since today’s world is very competitive I have been requesting the provincial governments to go for value addition and provide the people with efficient infrastructure,’ said Zafar Mehmood.
Another issue is the agri exports, for which we are not doing enough to get the maximum benefits, he said, adding that we still are not able to export mangoes to Japan despite Japan’s plausible assistance in this regard many years back. Even the best Kinnows we have in the Sargodha region were not being exported a few years ago, now some 150 latest processing plants have been established there by the investors from Karachi, which has resulted in the forex of $100m for the country, he added.
Dr. Ali Abbas Qazilbash of United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in his welcome remarks said that currently the organization is helping the country through Direct Technical Assistance and Investment & Technology Transfer programs. ‘Pakistan needs to have better productivity and value added products in the sector through the use of latest technology, which can maximize the benefits of high value agri exports,’ he added.
A project Trade Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) funded by European Union (EU) is meant for the support of the country in the areas of agriculture, fisheries, horticulture etc. and will help the country to have access to the international markets, he added.
Chief Executive Officer of Engro Foods Limited Afnan Ahsan while addressing the gathering talked about the challenges and opportunities the dairy industry of the country has been facing. He said that the value of dairy component of the agriculture sector is Rs 500bn which is 15 times higher than the mango market, but it is not even in the thought process of the government policies.
He said that the demand of the dairy products is continuously outpacing the supply, as the industry requires 11 liters of milk from one cow, which is currently standing at 4 liters; therefore, this gap has been resulting in price increase. Non-commercialized scattered farming is another issue and adding to it is the export of 11% of our female breeding stock to Afghanistan, he added.
‘We are 9th among the world’s backward countries that are facing quality issues because in Karachi we have 12m bacteria count in one liter of milk, while in Newzeland the count is 12 thousands per liter, therefore, we will never be able to export milk,’ said Afnan. The government has to establish regulatory framework for this industry, he added.
The Pakistan Agri Conference ‘Agricultural Competitiveness through Value Addition’ was supported by the Australian Trade Commission, USAID, United States Department of Agriculture, Overseas Investors Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Punjab Government, and Punjab Board of Investment and Trade among many others.
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