ISLAMABAD, Sept 27: The government has decided to enhance the export of agricultural products by enforcing quality standards through pre-shipment inspection and by diversifying product range, said Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance Dr Salman Shah.

“We have to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to ensure quality of produce both for the domestic and international market by adopting good agricultural practices, including disease-free planting materials and enforcing grades and quality standards,” he said.

He told Dawn after a meeting that operational effectiveness of various bodies will be ensured with a view to enhance export of agricultural products.

“The weak regulatory mechanism will be strengthened through pre-shipment inspection for quality control”, the adviser on finance said adding that it will be an internal arrangement and no foreign company will be hired for this purpose.

He said with the support of the USAID four sub-committees, including one regulatory framework and infrastructure were working to improve the performance of the agricultural sector. “The objective is to accord special attention to the horticulture products and their export”, he added.

He also told the second meeting of the Task Force on Horticulture, Finance and Competitiveness that banks were being asked to offer generous lending aimed at increasing the exports of agricultural products. The meeting was attended by key stakeholders, including representatives from the ministries of food agriculture and livestock, commerce, science and technology, industry and health, Board of Investment (BoI) and other private sector representatives from banking, bio-technology and leading horticulture exporters.

Dr Shah informed the task force members that the Competitiveness Support Fund, a joint initiative of the ministry of finance and USAID was tasked to undertake a comprehensive study entitled - “The competitive advantage of the food processing industry: Focus on quality, safety and standards.

As a result, CSF was asked to undertake more specific work on horticulture, a sub-sector of agriculture accorded national priority by the government. An action plan for the horticulture industry was subsequently developed by CSF in close consultation with Minfal and other stakeholders in May and June 2007, Dr Shah added.

He also asked the implementation committee to come up with at least two major processing projects to be developed in the production and processing areas, where entrepreneurs can approach the banks for financing. He desired that at least three projects should be submitted to the task force in terms of infrastructure development.

Dr. Shah put special emphasis on the establishment of wholesales markets in major cities as mega projects as well. The Punjab Agriculture Marketing Company (Pamco) will be coming up with a few projects.

The sub-committee on Quality was asked to work with ministries of health, and finance, Minfal and Planning Commission to work on the food safety laws.

Identifying the role of the banking sector, Dr. Shah asked the banks and other financial institutions to look at the three aspects of the financing - production/farmer, export and projects.

There must be a holistic, integrated and coordinated approach based on leadership by key agencies, principally Minfal, NAPHIS, PHDEB, the BOI and the State Bank of Pakistan, said Dr. Shah. He also emphasised the importance of the private sector, including the commercial banks, as key players in the development of this sector.

Speaking on the occasion Arthur Bayhan, CEO of the Competitiveness Support Fund informed the task force that each sub-committee reported their findings to the implementation committee which are reflected in the final report made to the task force on September 12, 2007. He said that the lacklustre performance of horticulture industry was due to a multitude of factors. CSF brought these to the attention of the government, which has emphasised the need for swift corrective action. The CSF made a presentation to the task force members and briefed them on the findings of the four sub-committees. Mr Geoffrey Quartermaine Bastin, senior advisor to the CSF informed the members that the sub-committee on production, processing, marketing identified the major issues to be inadequate institutional mechanisms to support the industry and to allow the technical solutions to be understood and implemented. The sub committee has recommended adopting an integrated approach to the total management of all sectors of this industry; establishment of priority production zones and products for development and to provide incentives for investment in post-harvest handling and processing and improvement in human capacity Highlighting the recommendations of the sub-committee Mr Bastin said that there was a need to rationalise and utilise existing quality control laboratories, set up labs in the production areas, revise laws applying to food standards and more coordination of work that various agencies involved in food health and safety are currently undertaking.

Support for CSF is part of the $1.5 billion in aid that the US is providing to Pakistan through USAID over five years to improve economic growth, education, health, and governance, and for earthquake reconstruction.