Staff Reporter
Mr Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Food Security has said that the agriculture sector development is among the top priorities of the government and PM’s Agriculture Transformation Plan is a revolutionary initiative to shift conventional agriculture to the next level, commercial agriculture.
He stated this while addressing a seminar on Prime’s Minister Agriculture Transformation Plan: Targets & the Way Forward, held at Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University.
Mr Jamshed Iqbal Cheema further said that the government policy of agricultural transformation is not only the food security of the country but also addresses the physical nutritional needs of every citizen of Pakistan.
He said there is a dire need to improve the nourishment of humans and animals in the country because each person across the world consumes 210 Kg of fruits and vegetables almost every year while in Pakistan per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables is 63 Kg.
He said that the government is allocating different districts for different crops under which the problem of water would also be controlled and imports would be reduced by increasing the production of agricultural commodities.
Highlighting the Prime Minister’s policy on agricultural transformation, he said that Pakistan would eliminate soybean imports by 2024 and was of the view that Gilgit will be the next agricultural hub of Pakistan under this policy.
Dr Abid Qayyum Silhari, Executive Director, SDPI, said that there was no doubt that food items had become more expensive in Pakistan during this epidemic but they were not lacking.
Highlighting the importance of the relationship between education and industry, he said that both are the guarantors of Pakistan’s development.
He appreciated the programs run by Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi which are the result of the hard work of the faculty and administration.
