Green Pakistan Initiative to boost agri-sector, FDI: PBF

July 12, 2023 (MLN): Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) lauding Green Pakistan Initiative said that the country's second green revolution will pave the way for progress and prosperity besides attracting massive foreign direct investment, APP reported.

Vice President PBF, Chaudhry Ahmad Jawad, in interaction with APP on Tuesday, said that the government's historic initiative and the Pakistan Army's special focus on revolutionizing the agricultural sector would make farming the significant driver of our monetary development and ensure food security as well.

He said that in Pakistan's agricultural sector, billion-dollar investments are anticipated within the next four to five years through the promotion of cutting-edge technology, collaboration between the public and private sectors, and dividends distributed to local farmers to alleviate poverty.

GCC nations import $40 billion worth of agricultural and food products annually, he observed adding that under the supervision of the Special Investment Facilitation Council, the government intended to attract investment in the amount of billions of dollars into Pakistan's agriculture sector from the GCC nations.

In addition to the creation of 4 million new jobs, there would be an investment of approximately $40 billion over the next four to five years, Jawad anticipated.

“We are importing $4.5bn worth of palm oil and as an emerging nation we can't spend such a gigantic sum on the import of a single commodity," he added.

Pakistan used to produce more cotton than our neighbor, but today we are behind in cotton, wheat, and other agricultural products Pakistan produces great Basmati rice but now it has many competitors, he observed.

“In a year or two, our agri-based economy will be revived. We will not have to seek further loans but investors will come by themselves,” he hoped.

PBF official while speaking on Land Information Management System - Centre of Excellence (LIMS - COE) said that it would definitely support the new shape of Pakistan's agriculture sector as it would focus on transforming farming methods in Pakistan with a view to optimizing agricultural output for improving domestic food security and creating exportable surplus for the Gulf states and China.

The GIS-based initiative is aimed at the utilization of 22m acres of uncultivated state land and improving modern agro-farming. Under LIMS, the government anticipates significant investments in agriculture from China and the Gulf.

In a similar vein, it may be the first multifaceted strategy to simultaneously address pressing agricultural issues: developing food uncertainty, a flooding food and rural import bill, and reducing send out the excess, Jawad said anticipating that the new plan's success will significantly address these issues.

He also stressed the need of encouraging the utilization of uncultivated state land to boost crop output, invest in swathes of wasteland to make them cultivable, and also put a stop to the encroachment of agricultural lands by sprawling housing schemes.

The LIMS initiative was only the first step and a lot was required to ensure food security and create exportable agricultural surplus, he concluded.

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