Observer Reporter ISLAMABAD
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday, addressing the National Kissan (farmers) Convention here, said that farmers across the country will get the direct subsidy through the federal government’s Kissan Cards.
He said that Kissan Convention is aiming to deter-mine the destination as the country is facing big challenges.
“We have to take those steps to protect the nation from the major threats. Food security is a national challenge. Farmers are the backbone of Pakistan.”
PM Khan said that food security will become a major threat in the coming days to Pakistan if concrete decisions were taken today.
He said that China has primarily paid attention to the local farmers and also given awareness to Pakistanis regarding how to alleviate poverty from the villages.
PM Khan said that he planted avocado in his resi-dence which is the most expensive vegetable.
He said 30 per cent of the fruit and vegetables were wasted in the country due to the non-availability of storage centres.
Khan said that the government is adopting strategies to make the farmers prosper and able to finance their agricultural land.
The premier said that the federal government has aimed to begin research-related work for benefitting farmers.
The government has vast agricultural land in Dera Ismail Khan, Cholistan, Balochistan and other areas of the country that could be used for agriculture purposes, said Khan.
He added that Pakistan will become an exporter of olive oils as the revolution of olive is coming in many areas.
The prime minister said that Pakistan’s “biggest challenge” in the years to come will be that of food security.
To explain the precise nature of the problem, he explained to the audience that Pakistan had to import 4 million tonnes of wheat last year alone to meet a shortfall.
“The expense for that was in foreign exchange, in a country that is already short of dollars,” remarked PM Imran Khan. He added that it was unsustainable for the country to keep on going like this.
“The rate at which our population is increasing [we need to ask] in the next 10, 15 years how will we create food for our population?” said the premier.
The premier said that it was necessary to raise awareness about food security and that Pakistan should start taking measures to tackle the problem from today.
