SHEIKHUPURA, April 7: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said here on Thursday that the current growth rate of the agriculture sector would be at least five per cent as against the targeted four per cent because of bumper crops and government’s agriculture package. “Agriculture is the backbone of country’s economy and all indicators suggest it will grow further,” he said, urging the farmers to turn towards mechanized farming “because our survival lies in it.”
The prime minister was speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of a private tractor company’s assembly plant being set up in partnership with a foreign agriculture machinery manufacturing concern.
Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool, Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Federal Industries and Special Investment Minister Jehangir Tareen, Food and Agriculture Minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan and Health Minister Muhammad Naseer Khan, whose son is setting up the factory, were also present on the occasion.
Mr Aziz said that enhanced agriculture growth meant the rural areas would get more money. This year over Rs60 billion went to villages because of the increased support price of wheat and cotton. This included additional Rs24 billion for wheat and Rs40 billion for cotton.
“The extra liquidity in rural areas would reduce poverty and bring about prosperity for its populace. We produced 15 million bales of cotton and would have 22 million tons of wheat. And if we work out the wheat crop in monetary terms, we would be sending extra Rs30 to 40 billion in rural areas,” he said.
Mr Aziz said as compared to the last year, the country would have 30 per cent extra water for the Kharif crop. This again was a good indicator for the growth of agriculture sector in the country.
The prime minister said the country also had record gram and canola crops. He said the agriculture sector grew because of the market driven policies of the government. “When there was a shortage of urea last year, the government imported it to help the farmers. Banks and leasing companies are giving credit to the farmers to meet their increasing agriculture demands.”
The prime minister said the government had decided to invite a top agriculture machinery producer to start operation here because of the increase in its (machinery) demand here. “We have only two to three local tractor manufacturing plants,” he said.
Mr Aziz urged the farmers to turn towards mechanized farming for competing with the world. “And we are supporting the agriculture sector in the mechanized farming because of the realization that we can survive only through it,” he said.
“If we bring about prosperity in rural areas and plug the gap of facilities there and in urban areas, we would be able to stop migration from villages to cities,” he said and added that it was required to also promote livestock, dairy and fisheries sectors which had great potential for growth. Their promotion would have a good spillover affect on other areas in the rural economy, he said.
The prime minister expressed the hoped that more agriculture machinery factories would be established in the country with the increase in their demand.
Jehangir Tareen said the country was moving towards prosperity because of government’s policies to create an investment-friendly atmosphere in the country.
