Federal Minister for National food security & research Mr. Sikandar Hayat Khan Boson presided over the Meeting of Federal committee on agriculture here in Islamabad, today. Various Scientists, representatives from meteorological department, members from bank, IRSA, Secretary, Additional secretary of the Ministry were present in the meeting. This meeting is conducted annually and is very important as it relates to the deliberation about problem faced by the agriculture sector in Pakistan and their tangible and viable solutions. Federal minister formally inaugurated the session and said that sound agricultrure sector is vital for strong economy as it will not only alleviate the poverty but also tackle the issue of malnutrition. There are potential for enhanced productivity in crops, livestock and horticulture fields. The need of the time is to create an environment for hefty investment for the uplift. Federal Minister said that we are aware of the condition of the poor farmers and challenges faced by them in the form of high cost of inputs, and during the meeting we shall focus on the issue of this cost of production and how it could be lowered to benefit the farmers. We shall focus on GST on agriculture input and through FCA forum will discuss the duty structure on agriculture inputs. He further said that Prime Minister is up for expansion of production based on agriculture through consultative process. All the scientists, farmers, ZTBL members, plant protection department and met department should join hands to create a framework for better future in agriculture. After the devolution, provinces have a major role to play in their respective fields. They must also come forward and assist the Federal government in realizing our dreams of better economy through strong agriculture sector. The federal Minister stressed the need for better productivity as low productivity is a hindrance for international competition.
He said that all the provinces must emulate the Punjab example and give this sector a greater importance as Punjab government announced Rs. One billion rupees investment in agriculture sector. Our Ministry is striving hard to make farmers better off so that the yield could be enhanced. We are hoping better decisions and resultantly a strong agriculture sector.
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