News:Infrastructure uplift must for horticulture growth
Name of Newspaper: The Post
Date of Publication: Saturday, 08 December, 2007
URL: http://www.thepost.com.pk/Arc_CorpNews.aspx?dtlid=
132808&catid=8&date=12/08/2007&fcatid=14

Associated Press of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The improvement in the quality and development of proper infrastructure are the pre-requisite to promote horticulture sector in the country, according to 4th meeting of the task force on horticulture, finance and competitiveness, which was held here on Friday.

The meeting was chaired by Dr Salman Shah, Minister for Finance, Economic Affairs, Revenue and Statistics and attended among others by the stakeholders from the horticulture sector in Pakistan, including federal secretaries from Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL), commerce and industries and experts and representatives from commercial banks.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Salman Shah stressed the need to link finance with development of horticulture sector.

He said the industry would depend on partnerships between public and private enterprises.

The four sub-committees presented their recommendations to the task force focussing on necessary measures to promote the sector for economic uplift of the country. The sub-committee on finance gave a detailed presentation on the horticulture-business finance guidelines developed for the sector, while the State Bank of Pakistan gave its recommendations to improve the financing for the horticulture sector.

The sub-committee on processing, production and marketing made presentation on the private sector-led extension services, while the sub-committee for infrastructure made presentation on the national corridor and cold storage projects at major airports.