Agriculture sector failure: reluctance of provinces' cooperation major reason

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikander Hayat Bosan on Monday informed Senate that reluctance of provinces to cooperate with federal government is major reason for failure to boost agriculture sector in the country.
Winding up a debate on a commenced motion moved by Senator Taj Haider on the multiple problem faced by the agriculture sector, Bosan plainly said that the provinces especially Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa are simply not ready to cooperate with federal government despite zero contribution from their side.
He said that the three provinces except Punjab plainly refused to implement Rs 341 billion Kissan package announced by the prime minister, adding the agriculture is the a provincial subject, but neither the provinces are taking step on their own nor they are listening to federal government.
"I personally went to see KP chief minister [Pervez Khattak], but he openly said that he is not ready to listen to the federal government...so this is the situation and if you want to boost the agriculture sector, let's press provinces together to do the needful as federal government is doing whatever it cam," he added. He recalled that the PSDP for the agriculture was Rs 32 billion when he was minister for agriculture some twelve years back, and now it has been reduced to Rs 1.5 billion, as the agriculture ministry has been devolved to the provinces.
The minister also regretted that the Prime Minister had announced to fix a uniform price for sugarcane throughout the country, but KP provincial government did not implement it without any reason, adding these are the issues, which has brought down the agriculture sector to this level.
He said that the major challenge to agriculture sector is cost of production which can be reduced if both the federal and provincial governments are on the same page. He said also accused the provinces of pressing the centre for not ending the GST and instead give subsidy. The lawmakers from both opposition and treasury called for taking stringent measures to boost the agriculture sector, saying if proper attention is paid to this sector, it will help in alleviation of poverty in the country.
They also criticised successive government of exploiting the small farmers in the name of agriculture loans, saying the rich got were given loans from Zarai Tarqiati Bank (ZTBL), and then the loans were got written off under one pretext of the other while the small farmer was exploited.
Senator Mohsin Aziz of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said that TBL is busy to roll over the loans it had given to big farmers, while a small farmer had to move from pillar to post to get agriculture loans of a few thousands. Senator Rehman Malik of PPP said that unless new water reservoirs are built, agriculture sector can not progress, adding there is a need to build small dams like China which has several small reservoirs for storage of rain water.
Sirajul Haq of Jamat-e-Islami accused the big landlords of intentionally exploiting the small farmers, as they want don not want the agriculture sector to flourish for their own vested interest. However, the minister rejected the claim by saying the number of big farmers is hardly 5 percent, as it is the small farmer that constitute 95 percent of the sector, holding lands of up to five acres, is the major contributor. Senator Muhammad Hamza of PML-N said that agriculture sector is facing a number of problems including shortage of water, poor quality seeds, insufficient fertiliser supply and lack of best quality pesticides.
Those who took part in the debate included Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, Mir Kabir Shahi , Usman Khan Kakar, Mukhtar Dhamrah, Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini, Kalsoom Parveen and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri. Speaking on a motion moved by Ateeq Shaikh of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on rights of tax filers, The Minister for Law and Justice, Zahid Hamid, said that there are 19 provisions under which tax filers have benefits over the non-filers.
In order to facilitate the tax filers, the government has given them a right of appeal, payment in instalment, and a foolproof security to keep their information secret, besides they are issued special cards under which they can avail special privileges.
Speaking on a motion moved by Azam Khan Swati regarding transparency in development of housing schemes by the ministry of housing and works, the minister form housing and works Akram Khan Durrani said that there is no corruption at his ministry.
He told the House that the government has constructed 5000 flats within a short span of three years, while another 10,000 flats will be built with the next two years for government employees, adding in sectors F-14 and -F15, 10,000 kanal land has been acquired where houses will be built for government employees.
RESOLUTIONS The House passed a resolution, recommending the federal government to build a 250 kilometers long highway along the Coast from Sircreek to Karachi to serve as a wall against sea intrusion. The resolution was moved by Senator Sassui Palijo of PPP which was not opposed by the government. Another resolution moved by Senator Chaudhary Tanvir Khan, facilitating Pakistan Cricket team, on the achievement of number one position in test cricket rankings.
MOTIONS Responding to a motion moved by Senator Mudassir Seher Kamran of PPP on borrowing of $408m from Swiss financial group amid transparency concerns, Zahid Hamid, Law and Justice Minister told the House that offer was made to all the banks in which five banks showed interest and the lowest offer was accepted.
He said that borrowing of $408 million was finalised after all prospective providers were asked to participate and the most economical offer was accepted, adding the Credit Suisse has formed a syndicate in which a number of bankers have provided resources, including Chinese banks.
Speaking on a motion moved by Usman Khan Kakar and regarding the plight of Pakistani labourers in Saudi Arabia, the Minister For Inter-Provincial Co-ordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada said that a delegation headed by minister form overseas Pakistanis visited Saudi Arabia in August where he met top Saudi officials. He said that Saudi authorities said that all efforts and support will be provided for safe evacuation of Pakistani citizens. Pakistan embassy is also providing complete assistance to the Pakistani labour. He said they have the option to comeback, to shift to any other company or stay there to fight their case.