ISLAMABAD: Minister for National Food Security and Research, Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, addressing ‘Pakistan Agriculture Conference and Exhibition’, said that the government is initiating training programmes for rural youth to bring them in agriculture mainstream.
The conference was organised by KMK Global Limited in collaboration with Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) and USAID. The minister said that agriculture sector of country was facing different challenges including high rate of inputs and lower rate of outputs which was exploiting the farmers in the country.
The minister said that the government was also committed to create conducive environment for the promotion of agri-sector by concentrating on crop enhancement, livestock, fisheries and dairy sectors development by creating linkages with industrial sector.
Speaking on the occasion, PARC Chairman Dr Iftikhar Ahmad said that due to surplus production in different major crops farmers was facing different challenges like return of their produces.
He urged the need of a strong policy intervention to safeguard the farmers interest by enhancing their profitability and changing the face of agriculture in the country. He informed that agri-sector was contributing about 65 percent in national exports besides providing job opportunities for over 43 percent work force in the country where as 62 percent of the rural population was directly correlated to this sector.
USAID Mission Director, Gregory Gottlieb said that his government was determined for agriculture sector development and initiated different programmes for farmers to produce quality crops.
