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News:‘Quality, infrastructure improvement key to horticulture growth’
ISLAMABAD: The Task Force for Horticulture, Finance and Competitiveness agreed Friday that issues of quality improvement and infrastructure development were the key to increased earnings from the horticulture sector. This was said during the fourth meeting of the Task Force held Friday at the Ministry of Finance. The meeting was chaired by Dr Salman Shah, Minister for Finance, Economic Affairs, Revenue and Statistics, and was attended by a large number of stakeholders from the horticulture sector in Pakistan, including federal secretaries from the Ministries of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Commerce, Industries and other line ministries and provincial departments along with the leading exporters and representatives of commercial banks. Dr Salman Shah in his opening remarks said that there was a need to link finance and investment with development plans for the sector. He welcomed the presentation of several project concepts at the meeting, and said that the future of the industry “would depend on partnerships between public and private enterprises and this approach will be assisted by the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) via its program of matching grants.” The minister further said that he was delighted to see that the CSF was working in the most disadvantaged areas of Pakistan, including the Northern Areas and FATA. These projects, he said, would enhance livelihoods, alleviate poverty, and improve the role of women in economic development. The CSF is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Finance and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). CSF supports Pakistan’s goal of a more competitive economy by providing input into policy decisions, working to improve regulatory and administrative frameworks, and enhancing public-private partnerships within the country. The four Task Force sub-committees then presented their recommendations. The Sub-Committee on Finance gave a detailed outline of the Horti-business Finance guidelines. The State Bank of Pakistan gave its recommendations to improve the Horti-business financing in the country. The Sub-Committee on Processing, Production and Marketing made presentations on private sector led extension services. The Sub-Committee for Infrastructure made presentations on the National Trade Corridor and Cold Storage projects at major airports. The presentation by the Sub-Committee on Quality, Standards and Regulations by National Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (NAPHIS) emphasized the need for an improved and effective legal framework, and the potential of NAPHIS as an effective concerned agency. Following meetings of the Task Force held earlier in the year, the four sub-committees had met to consider detailed aspects of finance, production, processing, marketing, quality and infrastructure. The committees, which represented the major stakeholders in the industry, found that there was a strong need for regulation and enforcement of quality standards. The Task Force agreed that this approach would be supported by the development of supply chain infrastructure. As a key component to improve the quality and standards in the horticulture sector, the recommendation to strengthen the National Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (NAPHIS) agency within a legal framework was appreciated. The restructuring will allow NAPHIS to make an impact on the food industry. The Task Force also recognized the need for cool storages in the production areas and more sophisticated and larger cold storage facilities at major airports. During the recent meeting held last week, at the Ministry of Finance, individual presentations were made by the principle agencies involved in the work that has been coordinated by the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF). These included presentation of Guidelines for Horticulture Financing prepared by the State Bank of Pakistan and aspects of the horticulture supply chain infrastructure development under the National Trade Corridor project. The Competitiveness Support Fund is also assisting the Ministry of Commerce and Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board together with the Punjab Agricultural Marketing Company to develop the strategy for a series of cool chains on the National Trade Corridor. Six pilot project designs with innovative aspects to improve the value chain in horticulture were also presented to the Task Force. These include: Mango Pack Houses in Multan with a total cost of $0.26 million, Potato Processing for French Fries and Potato Flour in Okara with a total cost of $0.40 million, Plant Extracts for Medicinal and Perfume Purposes at Pattoki with $0.26 million, an agro-based herbal products unit at Gilgit with a total project cost of $0.25 million, value addition projects of Production of Mint Oil/Crystal worth $0.16 million in Mir Pur Khas & Multan and a $0.2 million project in Swat on Certified Vegetables Seed Production. These projects provide industry and investors, examples of how horticulture potential is present and can be tapped for greater gains, which has primarily been ignored and suffered from under investment by the private sector. The Competitiveness Support Fund will provide an amount of $628,676 to support these projects; the projects will be supported by various agencies involved in the Horticulture business in Pakistan by contributing $883,403. |
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