Necessary: Pay more attention to agriculture, govt told

ICCI president says it is important to boost per acre yield.

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has called upon the government to pay more attention to the development of the agriculture sector in order to improve the economy.

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Acting President Muhammad Ali Mirza said that the agriculture industry is the backbone of our economy. “But due to lack of attention, the sector has not been able to achieve per acre yield of rice, sugarcane and other crops up to international standards.”

He added that Pakistan is among the top 10 producers of wheat with around 25 million ton output last year, but its per hectare yield is just around 2.6 ton as compared with China’s 4.7 ton and United Kingdom’s 7.7 ton.

Mirza said that agriculture is vital for economic growth and to the development of Pakistan as it provides income to about 70% of the rural households, absorbs 45% of labour force, contributes more than 20% to GDP and supports the growth of many other sectors of the economy.

He said improving per acre yield of agriculture assumes additional significance for Pakistan as it would improve exports of agri products leading to lowering of fiscal deficit, meeting domestic needs at affordable prices and supplying better raw material to agro-based industry.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2014.

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