KARACHI, March 1: Sindh Minister for Food and Agriculture, Arif Mustafa Jatoi, has initiated a multi-step programme to revitalize the sugar industry and promote cultivation of sugarcane in Sindh.

As a 1st step, the minister has prepared a draft law to regulate the sugar industry, which is to replace the Sugar Factories Control Act 1950, a law which is over 50 years old. The new proposed law shall be known as the Sugar Act 2003, said a handout here on Saturday.

The Sugar industry both in Sindh and Pakistan as a whole is facing severe challenges to its future. Sugar Mills are the backbone of rural industry in Sindh and sugarcane is the most important cash crop which provides sustenance to poor small growers for an entire year.

Recent events have shown that wide-ranging structural changes are required in the sugar sector if it is to face the challenges of WTO and the global economy.

The is sending a copy of the new proposed act to all the stakeholders such as the PSMA, growers associations to solicit their views so that a fair and balanced law can be legislated which protects the interests of the growers and the sugar processing industry.

The minister is trying to evolve a consensus in which growers and millers can work in harmony as they are totally inter-dependent on each other and they must be able to trust each other. This is vital for the long-term development of the sugar sector.

Arif Jatoi suggests that innovative ideas such as incorporation of new clauses in this new law providing legal cover to mills so they are able to provide quality seeds and fertilizer to growers, it said.—APP