KARACHI: Pakistan Minister for Food, Agriculture and Works Rana Abdul Hamid said yesterday that there has been a substantial overall increase in the production of almost all the crops during the Second Five-Year Plan period and the increase in some crops has far exceeded the targets. He was inaugurating the 12th session of the CENTO Sub-committee on Agriculture, Animal Production and Animal Health. Rana Hamid pointed out that Pakistan was giving the greatest attention and the highest priority to agriculture in its plans of economic development. This was because agriculture was the main foundation of the country’s economy and the manufacturing industries, trade and commerce were also dependent on agriculture. Pakistan’s prosperity, he emphasised, was directly linked with increase in agricultural production.

Listing the problems confronting Pakis­tan in the agricultural sphere, the Minister expre­ssed confidence that these problems could and would be overcome in due course of time and that Pakistan would eventually achieve the same standard of living other advanced countries had achieved. He said: “We have natural assets, which, if judiciously exploited, project considerable optimism for increased production.”

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2014