ISLAMABAD: Fearing that Pakistan may not be able to produce agricultural products as per requirement in the near future of nation, experts on Wednesday urged the government to create special industrial zones in every farm district, equipped with cold storages, food processing units and other facilities.

They also said that the govt needs to focus on supporting small and marginalised farmers and promote small scale innovative technologies to promote growth in the sector.

Experts were participating in a webinar titled: “Covid-19, an opportunity to reform the Agricultural system of Pakistan” organised by Pakistan Biotechnology Information Center (PABIC) in collaboration with CropLife Pakistan and Forman Christian College University Lahore.

The event was attended by scientists, policymakers, representatives from leading biotech institutes, academia, crop science industry, farmers and other stakeholders.

Speaking on the occasion, PABIC Director Dr Kauser Malik said that crop biotechnology has all the ingredients to make the agricultural sector flourish.

Say zones should have cold storages, food processing units

He said a lot of strategic planning was needed in streamlining the biotechnology products in the country.

“Government should play a leading role to ensure food security and control price,” he said.

The director also suggested to the government to introduce special industrial zones in every farm district, equipped with cold storages, food-processing units, connected with retail chains and export industries.

He also asked the government to improve water management as the four major crops (rice, wheat, sugarcane and cotton) consume 80pc of water but contribute only 5pc to GDP.

“Improving the nexus of agriculture, education, training and research and technology is the need of the hour,” He said.

Coordinator General Comstech Prof. Dr. Iqbal Choudhary said during pandemic the science had demonstrated the true spirit of researchers to find solutions under limited national capacity.

Executive Director CropLife Asia Dr Sianghee Tan said the pandemic had wreaked havoc on food supply systems in Pakistan and across Asia.

He said existing issues across the food value chain have been exposed and exacerbated by Covid-19, while new ones have been created as well.

“Our responsibility as stakeholders is to support the men and women who drive food security across the region. This includes providing policies that enable and empower our farmers to produce more safe and nutritious food on less land and with fewer impacts to the world around us,” He said.

Former Pakistan Agriculture Research Council chairman Dr Yusuf Zafar said: “The way forward is revisiting the procurement policies, incentivising the private sector for grain storage and involving foreign investment to develop modern storage and handling system.”

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2021