Prime Minister Imran Khan has stated that the government accords high priority to bringing innovation in the agriculture sector.
The Prime Minister made this statement while chairing a high-level meeting on the development of the agriculture sector, wherein he was briefed about the progress on Food Security Dashboard and Agriculture Transformation Plan.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Shaukat Fayyaz Tareen, National Security Advisor Dr. Moeed Yousuf, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr. Shahbaz Gill, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Food Security Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, and other officials concerned. The Chief Secretaries of all four provinces also attended the meeting via a video link.
The meeting was informed that the Food Security Dashboard had been made fully functional, and it contained the demand and supply indicators of wheat at tehsil, district, division, provincial and national levels.
The dashboard will help ensure effective monitoring of prices, procurement and release, import and export, and timely decision-making. In addition, it will also help take timely action against those responsible for illegal profiteering by hoarding and artificial price hike of agricultural commodities.
Moreover, the dashboard will help save the country from future food crises. Relevant data will be updated on the dashboard on daily basis, which will provide real-time numbers of existing wheat reserves in the country.
The meeting was informed that the process of including sugar and other food items in the dashboard would also be completed soon.
Later, the meeting was given a detailed briefing on the Agricultural Transformation Plan. It was informed that the supply of high-quality seeds was being ensured to increase crop yields.
The meeting participants were told that only those seed companies, which were capable of providing high-quality seeds after research, were being registered. Furthermore, under a plan of the Asian Development Bank, the PC-1 of high breed seed dissemination program in Punjab, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had also been approved. The data for the Consumer Sourcing Authenticity System would be completed by December 2021 to ensure quality seed access to farmers.
The meeting was also briefed on the progress of cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. It was underscored that cooperation would increase innovation and productivity in the agricultural sector.
The Prime Minister was apprised that a significant reduction in the cost per acre of the farmer with modern technology and an increase in production would not only make the farmers prosperous but would also move the country toward self-sufficiency in the food sector. Besides, it was briefed that the establishment of four Centers of Excellence in Punjab, the development of research institutes in Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as creating awareness of agricultural sector innovations among farmers were also part of the project.
The meeting was further informed that the project also focused on genetic improvement to increase meat and milk production in cattle. For this, a comprehensive import strategy was being formulated at the government level, which would also ensure an increase in the production of local breeds of cattle through protection and research. It was underlined that 9211 emergency service was being introduced for cattle farmers, while it was revived in Punjab with progress being made in other provinces.
The meeting was also briefed in detail about the progress on olive cultivation and Kissan Card.
