Sitting at PM Secretariat: Meeting to discuss wheat purchase and export

Will establish a mechanism to address challenges faced by growers

ISLAMABAD: A meeting has been called at the Prime Minister Secretariat on May 26 that will discuss the purchase of fresh wheat harvest and the export of surplus commodity held in storages.

All the stakeholders concerned will gather to deliberate on food security matters and evolve an effective mechanism to address the challenges faced by growers despite producing bumper crops of wheat, sugarcane and rice over the years.

The meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and attended by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, National Food Security and Research Secretary Sirat Asghar, provincial ministers for food and agriculture from Punjab and Sindh and provincial food secretaries.

It will review the issues pertaining to surplus wheat and rice stocks, procurement of fresh wheat crop and the problems encountered by exporters to sell the surplus in the international market due to high prices of these commodities in the country.

A senior official in the Ministry of National Food security and Research said the prime minister would be apprised why wheat was imported by Sindh during the current season despite the fact that the country had surplus commodity and the reason for lack of coordination among the provinces as well as with the federal government to address the grievances of growers.

“If the issues continue to persist next year, priorities of many farmers will change and they may grow something else to get a better return,” he said, adding it would ultimately have a disastrous effect on the national food security in the long term.

Pakistan, despite being a major agro-based economy, does not have a national agriculture policy, which is the main reason for the farmers’ problems.

The official said despite the presence of surplus wheat, the country still suffered from food insecurity.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2015.

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