ISLAMABAD
Pakistan Agriculture Research Council Chairman Dr Yousaf Zafar has said that Pakistan lost $ 5 billion during the last three years due to the decline in cotton production that also lead to the closure of 120 textile mills and loss of over 80,000 jobs.
He said this while inaugurating the water-resource workshops being held with the assistance of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in which three US experts are participating in the Pakistan Water Dialogue Project.
He said agriculture has never remained a priority for the successive governments and they have always sought financing from international donors for agriculture research and development. “R and D funding from indigenous resources have always remained meagre and agriculture research was always dependent on PL-480 programs that vanished in the 1970s and so did many research projects,” he added.
However, he appreciated the new Premier Abassi’s initiative of setting up Ministry of Water Resources by bifurcating Ministry of Water and Power. It is a step in the right direction as a dedicated ministry will help address many of the water related issues. “We will also plead with him to bring all subjects related to agriculture under one ministry that will help address all issues,” he added.
He explained that at present, cotton issues were dealt with by the ministry of commerce, water issues by the ministry of water resources and same agriculture issues by federal ministry and provinces. “There is more over lapping of work and it should be rectified to move forward.”
PARC chairman also noted that lately, the government has realised agriculture sector as an engine of growth. Other than food security, it provides inputs to vast no of industries. The return on investment in agriculture sector is higher than other sectors. If the government enhances investment in agriculture sector it will give a major boost to the economy.
Earlier, three experts from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducted water-resource workshops to support the Pakistan Water Dialogue Project. Eighty-five senior officials and technical experts from the federal and provincial ministries, universities, and NGOs are attending the events, which were organised by USDA and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the first workshop U.S. Embassy’s Agriculture Counselor David Williams said the Pakistan Water Dialogue Project helps farmers to more efficiently capture, store, and use water for agriculture.
For six years now, USDA, with support from the United States Agency for International Development, has worked to improve watershed rehabilitation and irrigation by promoting practices and technologies that assist in water and soil conservation.
Due to these efforts, more than 1,500 farmers have already adopted one or more of the promoted technologies. USDA also partnered with the International Water Management Institute from 2013-2015.
