Agro Exports Being Enhanced To Boost Sector: Minister

Agro exports being enhanced to boost sector: Minister

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jan, 2020 ) :Balochistan government was taking steps to enhance the export of fruits and vegetables to boost the agro sector.

Food processing plants were being established across the province to preserve the agriculture production, said Balochistan Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Zmarak Khan while talking to APP.

The provincial government was also ensuring the availability of cold storages near main production areas to facilitate the local farmers.

Old harvesting techniques and non-availability of appropriate packing of corps was remained the main reason behind less production, he regretted.

It was the first time that government was paying special attention to the sector and many project were in pipeline to sensitize the farmers about modern agricultural techniques for better production.

He said, research was also being conducted in collaboration with International Agro based organization in that regard.

Strict measures has been taken at borders to eliminate the smuggling of fruits and vegetables from neighboring countries, he maintained.

The government had initiated various roads development projects in the province to connect field through markets and to provide easy access to the farmers.

The most important factors to increase the revenue, the government has built vegetable's markets across the province, the minister said.

He added that the government had generated a record revenue of Rs 100 million in the current financial year.

The province has huge potential in the agro sector but water scarcity and prolonged drought had badly destroyed the agriculture of the province.

Zmarak said the Balochistan government has initiated radical steps to modernize dilapidated agriculture sector of the province and to introduce latest equipment and techniques to cope with the drought areas of the province.

Under this initiative, in the first phase, proper training on latest parameters would be imparted to Agriculture Department officers at divisional headquarters. In the second phase, these trained officers would train and support the farmers to shift their agriculture practices on modern methods of farming, he added.

The provincial government was seriously considering this option and taking requisite steps in this regard, he added. The power load shedding during the growing season was affecting the corps, he said adding that the government had working to convert the tub-wells on solar energy. In this regard, the progress will be reviewed in the next cabinet meeting.

The Balochistan government, he said was taking initiatives to resolve issues in agriculture sector in the province on priority basis. He said that agriculture is the backbone of country's economy and it provides 50 percent employment opportunities to the country's workforce.

In order to improve underground water level, he said the government is working to construct more dams in the province and that will help to meet the water shortage.

Balochistan government had initiated the Balochistan Green Tractor Programme to distribute 1,000 locally produced tractors among the small farmers of the province, Zmarak said.

The minister said the Balochistan government allocated Rs 1 billion for the project to purchase 25 bulldozers to flourish the agricultural land and facilitate the farmers especially in drought hit areas. To improve irrigation system, the Balochistan government has working with the collaboration of Federal government for the development of irrigation system in the province with a cost of Rs 32 billion.

He said that the provincial government had decided to construct small dams sprawling over a large area of the province to resolve the water scarcity issue of the province.

The plan to build dam on Bolan River was also under consideration to conserve water being dumped aimlessly with a cost of Rs 1.5 billion, he added.

"The government has been taking the initiative to encourage farmers for cultivating olive trees whereas the government has allocated Rs 100 million for the development and boosting of olive farming in the province," he noted. He said around 65,000 olive trees had been planted last year in the province.