Parliamentary body outlays integrated structural reforms-oriented agricultural growth strategy

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Special Committee on Agricultural Products Friday presented an integrated structural reforms-oriented agricultural growth strategy for the next seven years.
The presentation was made to a Committee of the Cabinet working on the new agriculture package during a meeting of the special committee at the Parliament House. National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar chaired the meeting.
In a bid to build national consensus on the proposed agricultural growth strategy, Qaiser called for a close scrutiny of the entire strategy.
He added that after presentation to the Sub-Committee of the Cabinet on Agriculture, the strategy would be presented to the prime minister and subsequently the report would be laid in the National Assembly for debate.
The chief components of the strategy included Special initiatives for Balochistan, South Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Tharparkar, Cotton Revival Programme, Oilseed Development, Low-Cost Refinance Line of Credit & Credit Enhancement for Digital Production Finance, Digitization of Demand-Driven Extension Content, Integrated Seed System, Agriculture Climate Change Insurance Pool (Farmer Risk Transfer Mechanism) / Satellite-based Crop Reporting), Establishment of Agriculture Development Authority for Coordination of Reform Implementation, linkages with Ehsaas, Kamyab Jawan and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and incentives for promoting investment in warehousing, contract farming and farmers produce organisations.
The panel was informed that the overarching objective is to achieve Agriculture growth rate of 7.5 per cent per annum. by FY 2027-28 led and sustained by producer-owned integrated market-based value chains that incentivize producers to continue investing in modern and climate-smart production technologies, expansion of cultivated land area and value-added activities.
The convener of the sub-committee, Shandana Gulzar Khan, briefed the meeting on agricultural growth strategy. She presented a data driven snapshot of the structure of Pakistan’ agriculture sector followed by a presentation of the sub-committee’s proposed strategy. She highlighted that that the overarching goal of the proposed strategy is to boost agricultural exports, accelerate rural development-driven economic growth, reduce rural poverty, enhance financial and gender inclusion in agricultural sector. Drawing upon historical data she explained that the inconsistent growth patterns of agricultural sector reveals lack of consistency in policy and planning for the sector.
She further added that the proposed model envisioned a pro-poor growth strategy focusing on transformation of the business model of the 7.4 million smallholder farmers who cultivate 48 per cent of the total cultivable land.
She stated that the weak business model of the smallholder farmers comprising low bargaining power, low access to finance, low yields, fragmented market segment, lack of access to competitive markets and high production cost hindered the modernisation of the agriculture sector.
Shandana further added that the proposed strategy drawing upon eco-system based, multi-pronged three phased strategy seeks to transform Pakistan’s subsistence agricultural into modern, diversified, competitive and high-value agriculture with a particular focus productivity and profitability of the smallholders’ farmers.
The convener of the sub-committee explained that the objective of the plan is to accelerate the modernization of agriculture sector so that the sector can generate resources for the sustained development of the economy with a high degree of self-reliance. She added that the proposed program would complement the prime minister’s initiatives for agriculture sector.
The meeting was attended by Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Syed Fakhar Imam and other MNAs.