Sindh govt chooses to remain out of PM’s agri package

Food secy says province not participating due to political reasons

ISLAMABAD:

The National Assembly's Special Committee on Agricultural Products was informed on Friday that the Sindh government had kept itself out of the Prime Minister’s Agricultural Package.

A meeting of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Agricultural Products was held under the chairmanship of Convener Shandana Gulzar.

Ministry of National Food Security Secretary Ghufran Memon told the special committee that the Sindh government was not participating in the projects due to political reasons.

“Sindh will have to get its projects approved by the ADB, then the federation will make its plan on a sharing basis,” the food secretary said.

He urged PPP’s Naveed Qamar to talk to the Sindh government about this.
Qamar asked, “What has this got to do with politics?’ Later, he said, “I will talk to the concerned officials of Sindh government.”

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Further, the meeting discussed proposals for the promotion of livestock.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Livestock Department officials said, “We will be able to export meat only when the foot and mouth disease is controlled.” They demanded making the FMD vaccination absolutely free.

Memon said, “The government is running other programmes including Save the Calf and Backyard Poultry.”

Committee Convener Shandana Gulzar said, “Why our meat export is still banned. Don’t we have good meat?”

The committee also directed to estimate the cost of production and input of poultry and livestock and inform at the next meeting.