Asian Bank provides $0.1 million to prepare agriculture strategy

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided 100,000 dollars as supplementary technical assistance, which is intended to fund a stock-taking workshop for preparation of National Agriculture Strategy.
To be initiated prior to the TA selection of the short-listed firms, and broaden the scope of the study according to the needs and opportunities identified since the TA approval.
According to official sources, the rural sector underpins the economic and social structure of Pakistan's economy. Approximately 77 percent of the population and the vast majority of the nation's poor resides in rural areas. Most derive their living from agriculture and off-farm employment.
Agriculture remains the single largest sector of the economy - about 26 percent of real gross domestic product (GDP) - and provides the most income generation and approximately 50 percent of employment. Growth in the sector has been stagnating over the past few years, although it is likely to remain the primary contributor for some time.
An uncertain policy environment (especially concerning the prices and marketing of major crops) combined with widespread resource degradation has contributed to low productivity and profitability. Other contributions to the sector's performance include low quality inputs poor-quality support services, inefficient water resource management, inadequate rural infrastructure, and a deteriorating natural resource base.
The TA will assist the government in reviewing developments in agriculture and developing an agriculture development strategy with clear priorities for public investments in agriculture development. The purpose of the TA is to prepare a short to medium-term agricultural strategy that the government will use to plan its investments to support agricultural development.
The TA will (i) review past developments in the agriculture sector, make recommendations for future development, and assist the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock (Minfal) to prepare an agriculture strategy; and (ii) assess Minfal's capacity to implement the strategy, and recommend changes in role in the sector over the medium term (5-10 years), including recommendations for appropriate measures to target subsistence farmers, poor communities, women, and commercial producers in agriculture development.