LAHORE: The fifth Dawn Food and Agri Expo and conference began at the Expo Centre on Tuesday. Thousands of farmers, exhibitors, academia, scientists and representatives of private and government sectors thronged to the place to visit showcasing of new technologies and attend the conference.

Minister for Excise and taxation Mujtaba Rehman, representing Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, with Ambassador of the European Union Jean-Francis Cautain, Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamson and Dawn Media Group Chairperson Amber Haroon Saigol, inaugurated the exhibition and the conference.

Mr Rehman recounted the two recent packages (Rs341 billion by the federal government and Rs100 billion by the Punjab) as a proof that the PML-N government gave importance to the agri sector.

The government was working on an integrated plan to face food security challenges and the agriculture sector had to play its due role, he said.

Ms Saigol said the Dawn Group had been organising the Agri Expo and Conference since 2012 and had transformed it into a conglomerate, involving all stakeholders of the sector. She said this year Dawn had incorporated in the event the food sector, which was the second largest in the country and accounted for 27 percent of value addition and 16 percent employment.

“It is encouraging to note that the event has managed to build and retain momentum by involving government departments, farmers’ organisations and private and public sectors as well as foreign dignitaries and organisations,” she said and added: “We hope to continue fostering meaningful and result-oriented interaction on topics pertaining to dairy, horticulture, livestock and poultry, creating a road map for achieving value addition, enhancing quality of produce and product, improving export viability and deployment of new technology.”

Ms Adamson said Australia and Pakistan were facing issues regarding climate and remote communities. “We are both lacking water, so we need to find ways to use water in a sustainable way for agricultural and other needs - for industry, for our towns and cities and for biodiversity,” she said.

She said Pakistan was a priority country for the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and the Commissioners for Australian International Agricultural Research visited Punjab for discussions on Australia’s support in the sector.

She said Pakistan needed to create approximately 1.5 million jobs a year and increasing Pakistan’s female workforce participation was critical. Given their numbers in this sector, a job-enhancing and inclusive agriculture is thus vital for Pakistan’s economic future.Mr Cautain said the European Union and Pakistan had a long and strong relationship. In 2012, they adopted the EU-Pakistan 5-year Engagement Plan. He also spoke on basic economic conditions that needed to be given priority such as access to markets, productivity of Pakistani farms, post-harvest losses and value chains.

The United States showcased its longstanding support for Pakistan’s agriculture with a pavilion featuring its ongoing initiatives. The Expo highlighted efforts to modernise the agriculture sector, improve market access, and increase crop yields.

Expo’s US pavilion featured agricultural assistance programmes supported by the US and these programmes promote advanced farming practices, enhance export capacity, build irrigation infrastructure, and introduce the latest in water management practices.

Over the past five years, USAID projects have helped increase exports from Pakistan by $59 million, increased sales by $153 million, and helped develop over $16 million in new investments.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2016