THE fast-track inauguration of a model agricultural farm under the recently announced Green Pakistan Initiative highlights firm determination of the leadership to take practical measures to exploit the immense potential of the agriculture sector for progress and prosperity of the country. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, who inaugurated the Khanewal Model Agricultural Farm, reflected sentiments of the nation when he emphasized that all Pakistanis will have to work in unison to throw away the begging bowl.
This fully automatic farm is the first project under the new initiative where latest agriculture techniques will be used as part of the strategy to harness potential of the sector. Contrary to the propaganda by vested interests, the farm is designed to benefit small-scale farmers and promote sustainable practices. The announcement of the Army Chief that similar modern farms would be established across Pakistan, aiming to uplift the livelihood of farmers and contribute to the nation’s economic growth, must have bolstered confidence of the farming community. The interest being taken by the Pakistan Army and its leadership to help develop and modernize the agriculture sector must be appreciated by all as the move comes in the backdrop of unhealthy practice of transforming cultivable lands into real estate due to the greed for becoming millionaires overnight. It is partly because of this greed that the country experienced repeated shortages of food commodities and the Government had to import them despite paucity of the foreign exchange. It is also regrettable that despite claims made by successive governments about focus on increasing domestic production of edible oil, Pakistan is still meeting 70% of its edible oil needs through imports at a huge cost to the national exchequer. This shows we paid only lip service to the slogan of growing more oilseeds despite massive potential to become self-sufficient and save foreign exchange. In this backdrop, it is encouraging that the newly formed Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has already held two meetings and hopefully things would be streamlined in months to come and the country would be able to attract huge investment both in agriculture and industry. All stakeholders must coordinate their efforts as the debt burden is becoming unaffordable and as pointed out by General Asim Munir the begging bowl will have to be thrown at the earliest. Industrial and agricultural potential is there to help realize this cherished objective but a way out will have to be found to bring down the cost of doing business.
