Muharram 17, 1423
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Muharram 17, 1423
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MULTAN, March 31: An organized ‘monopolistic cartel’ of capitalists has been manipulating the market of agricultural produces to maximize its profits. “The government has to break the cartel to increase the disposable incomes of farmers if it is serious in its poverty-alleviation programme as 70 per cent of the country’s population is directly or indirectly related to the agriculture,” says Multan district Nazim Shah Mehmood Hussain Qureshi.
Talking to Dawn, Mr Qureshi, who also heads the Farmers Associates Pakistan, said since Pakistan was a signatory to the World Trade Organization (WTO) it could explore new opportunities in agriculture sector.
“Pakistan has a competitive advantage in its agriculture, every dollar invested in this sector can generate more employment and production,” he said.
The country’s agricultural potential, according to him, was not only enough to attain autarky, it had the capacity to earn the much-needed foreign exchange.
The farming community was however facing the marketing problem because it had failed to sell its products at the price promised at the time of sowing, he said.
Commenting on the water crisis, he said Pakistan had become from a water affluent country in 1950s to a water scarce country because it failed to launch any major water-sector development programme during the last three decades.
Today, he said, it was paying the price. It (water crisis) was sowing the seed of provincial disharmony and was a major threat to the economic growth in the country.
He said if the drought conditions persisted, water would be the major issue in the country’s future politics. “We have not implemented the water accord of 1991 in its spirit. It were the politicians who arrived at a policy consensus on the water accord after the failure of technocrats.”
According to him, all the major decisions like the 1973 constitution, water accord and resource reallocations among the provinces were successfully taken by politicians and not by technocrats. “I still feel that we can reach a consensus on water issue through political initiatives,” he said.
To a question, he said it would be premature to say what strategy would he adopt to deal with the dilemma especially when the PPP, of which he had been the central deputy secretary-general, was opposing the move of presidential referendum.
“I am of the view that the role of Ms Benazir Bhutto in the national politics cannot be ignored”, he replied to another question.
About devolution of power, Qureshi said for good governance, administrative restructuring was the need of the time.
“If the devolution plan is implemented in letter and spirit and financial autonomy is given to the districts, it will pave way for a modern state,” he said.
He said the role of judiciary, executive and legislature should be clearly demarcated for the smooth functioning of all tiers of the government.
About the ongoing debate of the creation of new provinces, he said if it was in the federation’s interest and was feasible vis-a-vis economic viability, then there was no harm in considering administrative restructuring.
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