Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Reform Khusro Bakhtiar has said that Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) will be reviewed in consultation with all the provincial governments with regard to needs of irrigation and agriculture sectors in order to boost agricultural productivity.
The minister said this while chairing a consultative meeting on agriculture sector development here on Tuesday. Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs & Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur, Spokesperson of the Prime Minister Nadeem Afzal Chan, MNA Ibrahim Khan, senior officials from ministries of national food security and planning were also present in the meeting.
During the meeting, a proposal also came under discussion to do away with GIDC on fertilizers, especially urea, and to provide relief to farmers through provision of subsidy on agriculture inputs.
The minister said that first meeting of Joint Working Group (JWG) on Agriculture will be convened next month to work out modalities and way forward to expand and broaden the scope of cooperation to the mutual benefit of Pakistan and China.
He said that special emphasis will be laid on developing and modernising agriculture sector in the next Five Years Plan. He stated that both short and long term strategies will be devised in consultation with all stakeholders to harness the potential that this crucial sector offers to enhance agriculture growth and its contribution to the country's GDP.
The minister recalled that during the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to China an MoU was signed on 3rd November 2018 in the field of agriculture to strengthen and promote technology transfer, trade facilitation, and scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries.
He said that development of agriculture sector will also help in poverty reduction as a large number of country's population is linked to this key sector. He underscored that focusing on socio-economic development of marginalised sections of the society is among the top priorities of the present government.
The minister said that agriculture sector was neglected in the last plan and its growth remained dismal during the last five years which is evident from the fact that almost all targets in this area were missed. He underlined that the progress of agriculture sector provides a sound base for economic development and the present government is paying special attention on agriculture development by focusing on improving its key sectors including livestock and fisheries.
He said that yield of major crops like cotton, wheat, sugarcane and rice will be enhanced by adopting best irrigation and farming practices, efficient water management and quality agriculture inputs. Livestock and fisheries sectors also offer great export potential that will be harnessed to boost the country's exports, stated the minister.
Khusro Bakhtiar noted that research and development and innovative farming practices remained the most neglected areas in the past, adding that special resources will be allocated for these purposes to uplift the agriculture sector.
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