A mega project to provide support to small-scale farmers in undertaking off-season farming by setting up green houses has been launched by Agribusiness Support Fund (ASF) which was created under the Rs 4.1 billion Agribusiness Development & Diversification Project (ADDP).
The ultimate aim of this initiative is to develop agribusiness sector in Pakistan and thereby fuel economic growth and employment generation. This mega project is part of a series of various matching grant projects launched by the ASF for development of horticulture, livestock and dairy sectors in Pakistan and is being undertaken, realising the importance of promotion of culture of off-season farming and need to improve the value chain of off-season vegetables.
Muzaffar Sharif Bhutta, Investment Advisor, ASF, told Business Recorder that during the first phase, 36 model greenhouses are being set up on a total area of 36 acres in the districts of Nankana and Sheikhupura. These will be owned and operated by small-scale farmers who are also contributing their share of 50 percent equity towards the cost of the project. Vegetables are a rich source of vitamins, carbohydrates, salts and proteins. With increased health awareness in the general public and changing dietary patterns, vegetables are now becoming an integral part of average households' daily meals.
In addition, he said, high population growth rate has also given rise to high demand in basic dietary vegetables. Increased health awareness, high population growth rate, changing dietary patterns of increasingly affluent middle class and availability of packaged vegetables has, therefore, generated year-round high demand for vegetables in the country in general and in major centres in particular.
However, due to lack of commercial off-season farming, storage and processing facilities, the supply side of vegetables remains volatile and, as a result, during the natural season, markets remain flooded with vegetables, irrespective of demand, substantially bringing down their prices. On the other hand, during the off season, there is only a limited supply of these vegetables available in the market at higher prices.
Bhutta said that in the absence of storage infrastructure and processing facilities in Pakistan, off-season farming is the only viable option that could not only increase the farmer's income but also assure availability of fresh vegetables to the consumers throughout the year at affordable prices.
During the first phase of the project, 360 small-scale farmers in the districts of Nankana and Sheikhupura have obtained ASF matching grant support covering the entire value chain of commercial off-season farming. This includes support in leasing land for farming, expenditure in setting up the infrastructure of green house, plant protection and input services, technical consultancy fee, packing material, and transportation of final product to whole sale market.
These farmers have already been organised by ASF to form 'Farmer Enterprise Groups' (FEGs). These groups will have 10 farmer members each, and basic training on entrepreneurial and business skills has also been imparted to FEGs who are now all set to independently undertake off-season farming on commercial basis with the matching grant support of ASF.
Cucumber, chilies, tomatoes, sweet pepper, brinjal and squashes are some of the popular vegetables of the region that can provide substantial return to farmers in the off season. The Investment Advisor said that this commercial off-season farming undertaken by FEGs in Nankana and Sheikhupura districts would not only promote the culture of off-season farming in the region by increasing farmer's incomes but would also assure the availability of fresh vegetables in the markets at reasonable prices.
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