An advisory and consultation meeting was recently organised by Investment and Marketing (I&M Conferences) in Karachi. The meeting was attended by leading corporate executives, agri-businessmen, and government officials. The meeting discussed the issues and problems facing the agricultural and allied sectors of Pakistan. The participants admired the size, produce diversity, and potential of the agricultural sector.
The agenda of the conference, "Modernising Pakistan's Agriculture", was also discussed in the meeting. The objectives and benefits of the conference, to be held on December 15, 2011, were identified by the participants. The conference will give an opportunity for govt officials, business executives, and farmers, to exchange contact information; Industry leaders from companies will be identified and recognised; specific agricultural and dairy topics will be discussed, problems identified and solutions discussed; projects of agriculture associations and non-profits will be promoted and shared; current plans and projects will be announced and shared by the participants; leading agriculture industry brands will be promoted; participants will develop strategies and plans for the development of Pakistan's agriculture, dairy, livestock. The discussions of the conference will be reported in I&M magazine and national news media.
Asad Abdulla, COO of UDL, pointed out various regulatory issues facing the industry. Due to supply of substandard secondary and micronutrients the produce is of very low quality. Seed development determines the agricultural produce and it has to be a priority.
Amin Bakali, REAP believes that the businessmen should lead from the front and be more proactive rather than just waiting for government's initiative. He added that long-grain rice is damaged by the current harvesting machiney, and better harvesting equipment will certainly increase the produce.
Babar Yousuf, Head of Development, 3BL Marketing & International Relations, Tameer Bank expressed that there is a lot of potential for the microfinance industry in agri-lending. He also highlighted the important role of women in the agricultural sector of Pakistan.
Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Executive Vice President, Product Development & Shariah Compliance, Meezan Bank informed the participants about various new products that banks are now developing in the agricultural sector, in particular Shariah-compliant Islamic banking product for farmers called, 'salam'. Meezan Bank is also working to Government of Punjab to increase the role of Islamic Banking in the agri-sector of Punjab province. It is expected that Meezan Bank will soon roll-out its Shariah compliant products for farmers.
Nayyar Siddiqui, TDAP informed the participants of TDAP's collaboration with other organisation in promoting trade. He cited the example of recent collaboration of REAP and TDAP in Faisalabad. Aslam Pervez, of Swiss Consulate Karachi, and Fletcher Albert of Swiss Business Council, described the role of various Swiss companies based in Pakistan in the agricultural and allied sectors.
The meeting was also attended by Ahsenuddin of Engro, who discussed the importance of balancing fertiliser and soil nutrient mix. Professor S B Hassan, Salman Hassan and Syed Azfar Hussain of I&M, thanked the participants for their keen interest in the I&M initiative.
At the end of the advisory meeting, Professor S B Hassan, President and CEO I&M thanked the participations of the meeting for their support for and keen interest in modernising the agricultural sector of Pakistan. The conference, scheduled for December 15, 2011 has registered officials and stakeholders from rice, wheat, cotton, sugarcane, sugar, spice, herb, dairy, and livestock sectors of the agricultural industry. Seed, pesticide and irrigation companies have registered their official delegations.-PR