Islamabad, May 4: The State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report of the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) and the World Economic Forum in its annual Global Competitiveness Report has identified improvements of the agriculture sector in Pakistan. However “Pakistan must update its data on all the agriculture segments indicators and provide it to the international sources”, this was stated by Arthur Bayhan, Chief Executive Officer of the Competitiveness Support Fund. Due to the desire of the Prime Minister, the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) delegation was making a special presentation to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL). The meeting with the other relevant ministries will follow.

Arthur Bayhan in his presentation briefed the ministry on the strengths and weaknesses of the global indicators related to the food, agriculture and livestock of the Global Competitiveness Report. Bayhan explained the rational behind the indicators and pointed out that the data used for these indicators is not up-to-date. He said that the government made tremendous progress in the last four years and improved almost all the indicators respectively.

Mr. Bayhan said that the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock has a role to play in boosting the productivity of farmers and enhancing the competitiveness of Pakistan’s agricultural sector and food industry. This can be done by connecting agricultural research more closely to the needs of farmers and the food industry. The benefits will accrue to both producers in terms of efficiencies and to consumers in terms of lower prices and better quality. Assisting farmers to migrate from low-value products to high-value products will also assist in improving rural prosperity.

The State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report by CSF, suggests a few reforms in the agriculture sector, including shifting of production structure toward rice and cotton, while ensuring a moderate growth in wheat production in Punjab. It also puts emphasize on government investment on irrigation, water management and agriculture research. An important area for increasing the competitiveness of the agricultural sector is the reform of wholesale markets. An efficient marketing system is a pre-request for the agriculture diversification that forms an important plank of the development strategy.

Mr. Ismail Qureshi, Secretary MINFAL informed the CSF delegation that Pakistan is one of the unique countries in the world which provides negative subsidy to the agriculture sector in view of the WTO. He further pointed out that the major difficulties for agriculture are the tariff and trade barriers, stopping Pakistan’s agribusiness to compete in the international market. “Pakistan’s future lies in agribusiness and we should not only add value but create value”, said Qureshi. Qureshi also suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture should work closely with CSF on food safety and standards, fisheries, horticulture and feed side from live stock. Qureshi also urged CSF to establish formal cooperation with the ministry.

Mr. Qureshi told the meeting that, Pakistan’s future lies in agribusiness and we should not only add value but create value as well. Qureshi also suggested that the MINFAL and CSF should work together on food processing, fisheries, horticulture, meet processing and specifically on the feed side for the livestock.

The Secretary MINFAL, Mr. Qureshi also informed the delegation that his ministry would like to play its role in improving competitiveness of the agriculture sector and will be providing valuable inputs in the State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report for 2008. He also appreciated the fact that CSF is carrying out policy relevant analysis on several sectors including agriculture.

The CSF delegation was lead by Arthur Bayhan, who made a special presentation to the ministry and discussed in detail the reasons for Pakistan’s low ranking on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) of the World Economic Forum. The meeting was chaired by Muhammad Ismail Qureshi, Secretary Food, Agriculture and Live Stock (MINFAL). Abdul Basit, Joint Secretary, Prime Minister’s Special Programme Wing, Ministry of Finance also accompanied the CSF delegation.

CSF is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). CSF Supports Pakistan’s goal to be of a more competitiveness economy by providing input into policy decisions, working to improve regulatory and administrative frameworks and enhancing public-private partnerships within the country. CSF also provides technical assistance and co-financing for initiatives related to entrepreneurship, business incubators and private-sector-led initiatives with research institutes and universities that contribute to creating a knowledge-driven economy.

Support for CSF is part of the $1.5 billion in aid that the U.S. Government is providing to Pakistan over five years to improve economic growth, education, health, and governance.

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