Country faces trade deficit in food products

Minister laments Pakistan has become net food-importing nation


​ Our Correspondent January 09, 2020
Minister laments Pakistan has become net food-importing nation. PHOTO:EXPRESS

ISLAMABAD: The growth of the agriculture sector is one of the highly prioritised areas for the government as the country is currently facing a trade deficit in food products, said Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar.

Presiding over the 44th meeting of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (Parc) board of governors on Wednesday, the minister said the country was currently facing depletion of natural resources, the impact of climate change, resource conflicts, rapid urbanisation, malnutrition, hunger and poverty.

"Being an agricultural country, a major chunk of exports is linked to better performance of the agriculture sector," he said.

He lamented that Pakistan went from a net food-exporting country to a net food-importing nation. The minister was of the view that to address such issues, proper attention had to be paid to the agriculture sector at all levels, which would also help in increasing productivity.

Output of major crops falls despite surge in financing

He added that it would not only support the livelihood of resource-poor farmers but would also support the government's vision of export promotion and import substitution.

Under the Prime Minister's Agriculture Emergency Programme, a sizeable investment had been pledged to the agriculture sector for the next four years, Bakhtiar told the Parc board.

He pointed out that the federal and provincial governments were jointly implementing 14 megaprojects worth around Rs300 billion, of which Rs67 billion worth of projects were aimed at enhancing wheat, rice, sugarcane, oilseeds and pulses production.

"Other projects are of livestock, fisheries, poultry and water resources' sectors," he added. "Government's budgetary support for agricultural research and development projects will help the farming community enhance productivity and profitability."

Crop yields at risk from rising temperature

He pointed out that the government had significantly raised investment in the agriculture sector from Rs1 billion to Rs12 billion.

The federal minister assured the Parc board that delays in disbursing pensions and other service benefits to Parc employees would be addressed through consistent mutual efforts.

Speaking on the occasion, Federal Secretary for National Food Security Dr Muhammad Hashim Popalzai voiced hope that the implementation of food policy would help in the promotion of value-added food production while creating a new class of agricultural businessmen.

During the meeting, the Parc board approved a revised budget for the organisation for the financial year 2018-19 along with the annual budget for 2019-20.

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