ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Minister for National Food Security and Research Dr Kausar Abdullah Malik has said the government is aware of the urea fertiliser crisis in the country, terming the problem the result of hoarding.

Speaking at a National Kissan Convention here on Friday, Dr Malik said the government will overcome the crisis with the help of provincial governments and the Pakistan army.

He said 47,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser had arrived in Karachi, out of the 200,000 tonnes ordered for import in the country.

In future, he said, farmers would face no such crisis as the government has taken steps in this regard.

The minister said that wheat has been sown on 22.17 million acres of land and a very good wheat crop is expected this year, adding that the government has enough stock of wheat and expressed the hope that further import of wheat would not be required.

Dr Malik said the country has produced a record rice crop of 9.3 million tonnes this year and it is estimated that its export will fetch the country $3 billion.

Govt assures farmers it will overcome crisis with help of provincial governments and army

Referring to the problem faced by the poultry industry due to suspended import of soya bean, he said the government has now launched a programme in collaboration with provincial governments to increase the production of soya bean in the country.

He said the government has resolved the issue of suspended import of soya bean and it is expected the poultry industry would soon be back on track.

The minister said that a new national seed policy has been made which also covers seeds developed by bio-technology. When approved, the new policy would help usher in a revolution in the agriculture sector in the country, he said.

He said a new plan of action has been prepared for import and export of agricultural products, and under the plan importers and exports would be made aware of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures to ensure smooth import and export of agriculture products.

The government is also reorganising animal quarantine department and the department of plant protection to align these departments with the Pakistan Single Window (PSW), he said.

The PSW is an integrated digital platform that allows parties involved in trade to lodge standardised information and documents with a single-entry point to fulfill all import, export and transit-related regulatory requirements.

He said prospects of the export of livestock are very bright and in order to export beef to China and other countries, a food and mouth disease free zone has been established.

One zone has already started functioning in Sheikhupura in collaboration with China.

Similar zones, he said, would be set up in other provinces, adding that the procedure for export of cows had been simplified.

The minister said that the public-private investment in the agricultural sector had been slow in the past, but now the government has taken speedy action on this matter and increased the investment two to three times.

He said the Ministry of National Food Security and Research would soon launch a new project in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission to introduce drones and robots in the agricul-tural sector, using artificial intelligence.

A new Rs2 billion Green Revolution programme has also been launched in the country, he said, adding that while agriculture is promoted through corporate farming in the world, in Pakistan, this was neglected.

He said farmers in the country would have to follow the concept of corporate farming to adopt the latest techniques of farming to boost the country’s agriculture production.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2023