The Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research (NFSR) Sikandar Hayat Bosan said that the present government gives special emphasis for promotion and development of agriculture sector in Pakistan to boost up production to achieve self-sufficiency in food security as well as for economic development. He said this while presiding over a meeting of USDA delegation headed by Richard T. Drennan & Asmat Raza with Tamoor Azmat, Secretary (MNSFS) and Dr Iftikhar Ahmad, Chairman PARC and other senior officers here on Wednesday.
He appreciated the role of USAID/USDA and other donor agencies such as CIMMYT, ICARDA, ARS), FAO, etc for support in different areas of agriculture through launching of various programmes such as Pakistan Agricultural Innovation Programme (AIP) with US $30 million, Wheat Productivity Enhancement Programme (W-PEP) - a US, Pakistan and CG Centres Partnership focused on mitigating the threat of Ug99 causing wheat diseases stem rusts with US $8.19 million, Agricultural Linkages Programme (ALP) and Watershed Rehabilitation & Improvement: Demonstration in Pakistan and Dissemination the basic technologies to help rural farmers.
These initiatives will surely increase crop productivity and production value of livestock, horticultural and cereal crops, thus increasing income for Pakistani farmers.
He said that the ministry acknowledged the role of said international agencies in Pakistan and fully committed to extend all possible co-operation to all international agriculture development agencies for their support for the development of agriculture sector of Pakistan especially self-sufficiency in wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane crops and livestock to improve economy as well as living standard of country' small farmers.-PR