Federal Food and Agriculture Minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal has said that support and co-operation of USAID is important for strengthening agriculture in Pakistan. The minister said this while talking to USAID delegation headed by its country head Anne Aareson who called on him on Monday in his office.
Anne said that USAID is interested in modernising agriculture sector as it is the sector, which has the potential to strengthen economy of Pakistan. "USAID is successfully working in Balochistan with the ministry and in food deficient districts of Fata and NWFP with World Food Programme (WFO)", Anne said.
The minister said that the co-operation of USAID is needed in dairy development, horticulture, seed research, construction of mini dams for irrigation, market access for farmers, providing input security to farmers as keeping in mind rising prices of fertilisers in international market and to modernise storage capacity for agricultural goods to benefit farmers.
The minister said that 90 percent of farmers in Pakistan are small landholders and the focus of assistance should be on them if we want to change agriculture into competitive and profitable sector.-PR