Sustainable productivity, economic growth: There’s need for comprehensive national strategic framework: NPO chief

ISLAMABAD: National Productivity Organization (NPO) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Muhammad Alamgir Chaudhry stressed the need for a comprehensive national strategic framework to achieve sustainable productivity and economic growth in the country by bringing structural reforms that strengthen competition.

During a chat with Business Recorder here on Wednesday, the CEO NPO said that bringing structural reforms and strict implementation was the only way to put the country on the way of economic development.

He said that most of the industries operating in Pakistan are dated and have not adopted modern technologies as a result country’s industrial growth is not at par with other countries.

“We need to revolutionise not only the industrial sector but agricultural, livestock, educational, and social sectors as well to compete in the modern world,” he maintained.

“Our farmers have not adopted modern farming techniques as a result Pakistan’s per acre production of all the major crops is far below the rest of the world, therefore, our farming community must adopt value addition to increase their earning and increase their role in national productivity,” Chaudhary said.

The country was an agricultural economy but agriculture and livestock sectors are also so backward, using dated farming techniques, poor marketing methods, storage and transportation means, which has resulted in causing significant losses to their products.

He said that NPO in collaboration with other government agencies and private partners has initiated various projects to enhance national productivity, saying the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) of which Pakistan is a founding member recently has approved a grant of $120,000 for the implementation of Master Plan Development. He said creating awareness among all the segments of the society is a must to have sustainable economic growth.

He further said that as a first step towards launching productivity movement in Pakistan, the government of Pakistan had recently approved NPO project, Improving Competitiveness through Sustainable National Productivity (SNP). The project is aiming at enhancing productivity awareness among masses through trainings, seminars, conferences, engagement of experts and awareness tools like productivity portal, journal, walks, competitions, curriculums etc.

“The NPO is playing a vital role in enhancing the productivity through its specialised programmes including technical services through international experts, study mission to APO member countries, establishment of demonstration factories and participation in multi country training and research programmes.”

Pakistan is one of the eight founding member countries of the APO, Japan, since its establishment vide intergovernmental convention in 1961. However, Pakistan could not run a comprehensive productivity drive so far to improve productivity countrywide.

Hence, with the approval of Government of Pakistan, NPO Pakistan has prepared a proposal and submitted to APO Japan for the Development of the National Productivity Master Plan, which will also complement the already PSDP Project started on SNP. Master Plan will lead the project in the design and development phase of the productivity movement.

Therefore, through APO’s Individual Observational Study Mission(IOSM) Programme NPO Pakistan arranged a virtual study mission to Vietnam, who already developed the Vietnam Productivity Master Plan on the directions of their prime minister, who himself is steering the Productivity Master Plan drive in the country.

The IOSM programme was organised with the support of APO Tokyo Secretariat and implemented by Vietnam National Productivity Institute (VNPI), from 16-18 November, 2021 through virtual sessions due to Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions, to achieve the following objectives along with the capacity building of NPO Head office team and representatives for its regional offices.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021