Staff Reporter Peshawar
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan has directed the concerned authorities to give final touches to the proposed Food Security Policy and Action Plan, and table the same to the provincial cabinet for formal approval further directing the quarters concerned to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of all the concerned departments with specified timeliness to implement the action plan in letter and spirit.
He was chairing a meeting regarding the proposed Food Security Policy and finalization its action plan here.
The Chief Minister termed the proposed Food Security Policy as of vital importance to make the province self-sufficient in agricultural products and said that the policy if implemented in letter and spirit, would not only ensure food security of the province but would also create thousands of job opportunities and help boost the provincial economy.
Briefing the meeting about various aspects of the proposed Food Security Policy and its action plan it was informed that the proposed action plan consists of short term, medium term and long term interventions to be carried out in ten years period with an estimated cost of Rs. 236 billion and added that various interventions proposed in the plan mainly focus on construction of dams, development of maximum command areas, efficient use of water resources, soil conservation, scientific research, livestock and dairy development, adoption of modern techniques of farming to increase per acre yield etc.
‘The short term interventions will stretch over a period of two to three years and will cost Rs. 56 billion out of which 15 billion will be earmarked for irrigation infrastructures, and after implementation the short term plan is expected to have a monitory impact of Rs. 22 billion per annum’, it was informed and added that under the short term plan twenty various interventions have been proposed with special focus on strengthening the ongoing initiatives for enhancing agricultural products.
Regarding the medium term plan it was told that it would stretch over a span of four to seven years.
