Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has directed to constitute a committee to expedite the agricultural reforms process.
He was chairing a session on reforms in the agricultural sector on Monday wherein he observed that Pakistan’s agricultural produce contributed less than its potential in the country’s overall production. The session was attended by federal ministers and senior portfolios including, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Khusro Bakhtiyar, Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, and Syed Fakhar Imam, while chief ministers and special assistants of Punjab and KP were also present.
The committee will comprise of federal and provincial governments, the private sector, and experts who will finalise the Agricultural Transformation Plan and present it to the prime minister so that the implementation of recommendations can be ensured on a priority basis.
During the session, the premier was told that the harvests of wheat, rice, corn, cotton, and sugarcane have been low compared with that of the region; however, production can increase with effective strategy and reforms to aid the farmers.
According to the session’s briefing, no reform has been implemented in the agriculture industry in the past 20 years, while agricultural production can grow up to $74 billion by 2031 if reforms are introduced now.
The premier was informed that in a comparison with neighbouring India, where the gross production of wheat and rice was 51 and 64 maunds per hectare respectively, Pakistan is at 29 and 50 maunds per hectare.
It may be noted here that eight major steps were identified in the first phase of the Agricultural Transformation Plan. These steps include reforms in the seed sector, the introduction of digital subsidy, encouraging utilisation of modern machinery, effective use of water, provision of credit to farmers, reorganisation of extension services, storage facilities, and reforms in agriculture research.
Further, cotton, olive, genetic improvement in livestock and fisheries have been included in priority areas under the plan.
