ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said that agriculture development is on the priority agenda of the present government.
The prime minister was chairing a National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Agriculture.
The premier directed the provision of increased facilitation to farmers and formulation of a comprehensive roadmap based on concrete interventions for agriculture development.
He stressed that the forum of the NCC on Agriculture should be utilised to swiftly remove impediments to agri sector growth.
Earlier, a detailed briefing was give in the meeting regarding Pakistan’s agricultural development, rehabilitation of livestock and a comprehensive short, medium- and long-term plan for the welfare of farmers that was prepared after consultation with all the relevant stakeholders.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Jamshed Cheema apprised the meeting about “record production” of wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane and potato during the last two years.
He claimed that the confidence of local farmer has boosted due to the governments farmer-friendly policies and just prices of produce. The SAPM presented a comparative analysis of Pakistan’s agri model best practice and a future plan based on the analysis, wherein, livestock rehabilitation, production of quality vegetables and fruit be focused upon.
The provincial chief secretaries apprised the NCC on Agriculture meeting regarding budget outlays for agriculture development projects in their respective provinces, Kissan Card, research, nursery development, food processing, and progress made on utilising Information Technology in the agri sector.
The participants were also briefed about this year’s encouraging wheat production in the country.
The prime minister stated that after the decade of the 1960s agri sector remained neglected.
He stated that the present government has prioritised farmers’ welfare and development of agriculture on modern lines. The meeting was attended by SAPMs Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Dr Shehbaz Gill, Member Economic Advisory Council Aabid Qayum Sulehri, and senior officers. Governor State Bank Dr Raza Baqir and chief secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan joined via video link.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021