Corporate farming is not in the national interest because investors from rich countries want access to poor nations’ resources, markets and labour force at the minimum possible price, said Pakistan Agri Forum Chairman Ibrahim Mughal on Saturday.
He said that Pakistan needed projects which created vast employment opportunities to overcome unemployment. “Our own farmers should be provided with the latest technology for farming to boost agriculture production instead of inviting investors from abroad for corporate farming,” he added.
He said that farmers of Pakistan were hard working and they have great potential to increase production if provided with latest incentives and other inputs.
“For corporate farming, you have to provide land or area besides construction of roads, water facilities, high quality seeds and other agricultural inputs. It is better to give all these facilities to our own farmers and results will be 100 percent successful,” continued Mughal.
He said that agriculture research departments should play their due role in helping local farmers. He said they should come up with innovative ideas to help growers boost produce. Pakistan’s agriculture sector is under pressure from large corporations and corporate farming is not a solution to the problem, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 21st, 2011.
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