Poverty alleviation linked with agri sector growth

Minister for National Food Security and Research, Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan said on Tuesday that agriculture sector, the lifeline of Pakistan’s economy that employs nearly half of the work force, is ingrained with inherent constraints making it less productive.Unfortunately the sector has been neglected for long, he said while addressing a policy seminar on “Agriculture Growth and Poverty Reduction in Pakistan; Role of Small Commercial Farmers.” TheMinister further added there is a strong connection between agricultural growth and poverty reduction.The size of operational land holdings is shrinking day by day whereas population and rural poverty are on the rise, he said adding, “We need to realize and address all these constraints at the earliest.” The Minister highlighted that for the first time in history, direct compensation was being provided to the farmers.Kissan Package worth Rs 341 billion comprises four segments; financial support to farmers, cost reduction of produce, provision of agricultural loans and simplifying the loan acquisition.Prominent support measures include provision of Rs 5000 per acre to farmers having land up to 12.5 acres for rice and cotton growers, reduction in mark-up rate for rice and cotton growers by 2 percent, tax exemption for solar tube well installation and increase in production index units (PIU) of agricultural land from Rs 2000 to Rs 4000.The minister reiterated that food security is one of the priority areas defined in Pakistan Vision 2025.The Prime Minister has approved the constitution of Federal Food Safety Regulatory Body designated with the task to bring exports up to international standards of quality in accordance with WTO stipulation.The seminar was conducted in collaboration between USAID, IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute), Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP) and Ministry of National Food Security and Research. Prof Sohail Jehangir Malikpresented the findings of his research.He highlighted that majority of the farmers hold less than 5 acres of land.He classified farmers holding land between 3 acres to 75 acres as Small Commercial Farmer.The researcher stressed that this small commercial farmer must be the focus of attention during policy making in order to promote and protect agriculture sector. Market imperfections and agriculture constraints need to be addressed in order to ensure food security.News SourceNews Collated byPAKISSAN.com