KARACHI, Feb 23: Sindh’s acting governor and speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said on Saturday that there was a lot of potential in agro-based sector in the province where 70 per cent of the population depends on agriculture.

Speaking as chief guest at the Livestock, Dairy, Fisheries, Poultry, Agriculture and Culture Exhibition (LDFA-2013) at Expo Centre Karachi, Nisar Khuhro said that local and foreign investors should avail this opportunity because it has potential for value-addition and exports.

He said that efforts be made to capture world markets for agro-based products to earn foreign exchange, but before doing so, value-addition be made to ensure quality which can only ensure better price.

He further said that the country is bestowed upon with countless natural resources, but unfortunately “we have failed to tap them for larger interest of the masses and this can be verified from the fact that huge coal reserves in Sindh could not be explored even on facing acute energy crisis.

SBP’s deputy governor announced Rs300 million soft loan schemes for balancing, modernising and restructuring (BMR) of rice husking mills in the province.

Sindh Board of Investment (SBI) chairman Mohammad Zubair Motiwala said that rural areas of Sindh have immense potential for investment.

By developing value-chains from farm to ports, jobs could be generated and this could also help check population explosion in urban areas of the province.

He called for using modern technology in agriculture sector and urged the private sector to tap these resources which hold unlimited potential for value-addition and exports.

He further said that after overcoming the issue of water shortages, improving of infrastructure and creating of awareness, the province could easily enhance growth rate through value-addition in livestock, dairy, fisheries and agriculture.

The SBI chairman said that provincial government offers opportunities to investors to attract them in agro-based sector which includes financial and technical assistance.

He hoped that on-going exhibition and seminar on LDFA 2013 would generate one billion rupees business contracts and this would help exports through value-addition.