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Pakistan aims for transformative $30-50b investment boost in agri sector

Corporate farming will allow the bypassing of intractable political issues with reforming existing agricultural lands.


If the politicians can reform the existing land as well, great, but obviously it's almost impossible to do so due to political considerations.
 
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asim munir will grow more crops for making more potent and larger quantities of whisky.
 
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Want to boost agriculture for a fraction of that cost? Make water more accessible to already existing farmland and stop waderas/elites from stealing other peoples water.
First save agriculture land from going barren. Then think about making barren land into agricultural land.


This must be the top priority.
I’m from interior Sindh and my family and relatives all have farmland. The biggest issue for us is water isn’t available in the quantities we need. The average farmer can’t afford to switch over to more efficient irrigation systems like drip irrigation so we rely on inefficient flood irrigation system. Even the waderas and powerful elite use flood irrigation. So waderas and elite steal other people’s water for their land. In Sindh agriculture land is being turned into barren land cuz of water issues. Government should either provide subsidies or interest free loans to farmers to switch over to drop irrigation OR they should build more canals so more water is available and crack down on people stealing and hoarding water.
With minimal investment the already existing agricultural land in Pakistan can produce many folds more than it is producing right now. But government just does this shit for optics. First save the existing agricultural land. Then think about turning barren land into agricultural land.
One benefit of this investment by the GCC countries will be that it will further expose the other reforms that will be needed.

That is why I’m cautiously optimistic.

There really should be cheap loans given to farmers to modernize their farms, as well as the training institutes. If we look at what the Israelis have been doing in India, it’s clear that it’s not rocket science and has been done for decades now. We need to catch-up across the board.

This is what what was suppose to happen under CPEC with the help of Chinese experts. Hopefully it will happen now under the supervision of the GCC investors.

 
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One benefit of this investment by the GCC countries will be that it will further expose the other reforms that will be needed.

That is why I’m cautiously optimistic.

There really should be cheap loans given to farmers to modernize their farms, as well as the training institutes. If we look at what the Israelis have been doing in India, it’s clear that it’s not rocket science and has been done for decades now. We need to catch-up across the board.

This is what what was suppose to happen under CPEC with the help of Chinese experts. Hopefully it will happen now under the supervision of the GCC investors.

All of that is nice, but the most important part is the competition brought by corporate farms, which will light a fire under the *** of the laggards.


You can give farmers all the cost inefficient help you want, but only serious competition will change anything.


That lack of competition is the reason why India's farming competitiveness is still doing terrible despite having some of the best farmland on earth.
 
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“Our efforts are focused to enhance productivity and transform barren land into fertile ground which will significantly bolster our revenues."
“In a year or two, our agri-based economy will be revived. We will not have to seek further loans but investors will come by themselves,” he said

No structural reforms to the overall agricultural sector? Corporate farming only? Any plan for better water management? Cautiously optimistic, as always with Pakistan, but if they have found a way to bring in 2-3% of GDP in FDI for the next 4 years, in just agriculture, let’s hope and see.

Thank God, you have not gone too far in discounting Pakistan as a country! Most of Imran fanbois seem to have given up on the country to the point of some openly wishing Pakistan disasters.
As for the OP-- the govt. can't lie for long and neither can the military. You can only milk a cow for so long. Something will HAVE to give and will have give or deliver within next 12 months. But I, like you, am cautiously optimistic. I had said here multiple times that what's happening in Pakistan's politics has the backing of Pakistan's foreign backers/well-wishers, starting from China. And we shall see soon where this grandstanding of the COAS and the PM will lead to--they can't hide for long. Not anymore. Those days are gone. Maybe there is not even family-silver to sell.
 
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Army chief should be concerned about defence and internal security . let the elected representatives and bureaucracy handle agriculture/economy.
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If the army chief considers the elected representatives as useless and constitution as garbage then go ahead and rule Pakistan as a dictator.

Army chief and agriculture should ideally not be in a sentence...!
Rare time I agree with an Indian person here.

Middle-ground could be to use some of that ghost COAS influence to change the national cabinet to actual competent individuals, he should seriously consider that option
 
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All of that is nice, but the most important part is the competition brought by corporate farms, which will light a fire under the *** of the laggards.
You can give farmers all the cost inefficient help you want, but only serious competition will change anything.
That lack of competition is the reason why India's farming competitiveness is still doing terrible despite having some of the best farmland on earth.

Very interesting! But spoke like some anti 'communism'!! Perhaps your forum name could be changed a bit? ;)
 
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PM Shehbaz says many Gulf countries ready to invest, says country cannot take further loans
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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that the government expected investment worth billions of dollars in the next four to five years in the agriculture sector in Pakistan.

He expressed these remarks during a seminar on agriculture and food security held in Islamabad. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir attended the seminar as the guest of honour.

The premier highlighted the importance of agriculture for the economy of Pakistan and the landmark steps being undertaken by the government to exploit its full potential in agriculture and other domains under the ambit of the recently launched Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

PM Shehbaz said that Green Pakistan Initiative would be the second green revolution, paving the way for prosperity and progress in the country.

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He stated that under this programme, the government anticipated an average investment of 30 to 50 billion dollars in Pakistan over the next three to four years. “Our efforts are focused to enhance productivity and transform barren land into fertile ground which will significantly bolster our revenues."

Read more: Pakistan reaffirms commitment to meet UN SDGs with enhanced cooperation

He revealed that during a recently held meeting, the envoys of many Gulf countries expressed their interest in investing in Pakistan.

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“Pakistan cannot take further loans. I, COAS or the finance minister cannot reveal how we managed to acquire loan to try and avert a default. Thankfully, due to our teamwork, SLA happened and after two days, IMF’s board meeting is also scheduled. But this is not enough and it is just the beginning of a long journey of untiring efforts and we need a vision for it,” he added.

He lamented that many research centres had been established in Pakistan but many of them became unproductive after the 1960s.

The premier said that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were bleeding Rs600 billion from Pakistan’s scarce resources. “We have all the resources and all seasons… still we have been unable to become a prosperous country,” he regretted.

Also read: PM Shehbaz lauds COAS' role in securing IMF tranche

“We are importing $4.5 billion worth of palm oil. We’re a developing country we cannot spend such a huge amount on palm oil,” he added.

Shehbaz said that there was a time Pakistan used to produce more cotton than our neighbouring country but today we’re lacking behind in cotton, wheat and other agricultural products.

He said that Pakistan produces great Basmati rice but now it has many competitors. “In a year or two, our agri-based economy will be revived. We will not have to seek further loans but investors will come by themselves,” he said.

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The army chief also addressed the participants and assured the people of Pakistan and the government of the army’s full support for all the initiatives being initiated under the ambit of SIFC including the Green Pakistan Initiative.

The seminar was attended by federal ministers, chief ministers of Punjab and Sindh provinces, chief secretaries, agricultural experts and farmers from all the provinces.

Foreign dignitaries and potential investors and experts from the UK, Italy, Spain, China, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and various other countries also attended the seminar.

Sequel to the inauguration of Land Information Management System - Centre of Excellence (LIMS - COE), Green Pakistan initiative is being undertaken to enhance the food security of Pakistan, increase exports and reduce the agriculture-related imports, thereby, contributing towards the national economy.

Agriculture experts and farmers highly appreciated the government's landmark initiative and the Pakistan Army's special focus on revolutionising the agriculture sector by promoting modern contemporary technology, collaboration of public and private sectors and trickling down dividends to the local farmers to alleviate poverty.

The participants hailed the conduct of the seminar and its attendance by experts, government representatives and potential investors as a success and the first step towards bringing positive change in the agriculture and livestock sectors.

The attendees especially lauded the Pakistan Army's efforts in boosting the national economy by focusing on this critical sector.

They are trying to act like as if they understand what this guy is saying :rofl:

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Corporate farming will allow the bypassing of intractable political issues with reforming existing agricultural lands.


If the politicians can reform the existing land as well, great, but obviously it's almost impossible to do so due to political considerations.

There will be no land reforms as 65% of agricultural land is controlled by waderas or landlords backed by politicians or military connections.

Zia Ul Haq, I believe, tried, and a wadera took it to Sharia court and got it reversed.

Reform can happen if one has nothing to lose, the current setup of political parties all have everything to lose.
 
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If you know Urdu, then here is a video on this topic from the very beautiful Sumaira Khan. I had not seen her videos since her coverage of the American exodus from Kabul in August 2021. As she says, rise above your political differences and think for your country.

 
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One benefit of this investment by the GCC countries will be that it will further expose the other reforms that will be needed.

That is why I’m cautiously optimistic.

There really should be cheap loans given to farmers to modernize their farms, as well as the training institutes. If we look at what the Israelis have been doing in India, it’s clear that it’s not rocket science and has been done for decades now. We need to catch-up across the board.

This is what what was suppose to happen under CPEC with the help of Chinese experts. Hopefully it will happen now under the supervision of the GCC investors.

Hopefully it brings the much needed modernization. However, every few years we hear such project. Sometimes they say they’ll help with us growing new crops like palm trees, olive trees etc or sometimes they say they’ll help us modernize. But it never materializes. At least not in interior sindh. Interior sindh is such a place that desperately needed humanitarian aid during floods are stolen by elite and sold off. No average farmer will benefit from anything only waderas will. My family and relatives have been farming in interior sindh from before Pakistan was even created. We have some family members with massive multi thousand acres farms and some with only few acres. But one thing in common is the government doesn’t do shit to help farmers or help them modernize. With each passing year farming becomes harder and harder and selling off all the lands seems like a better option. More and more land yearly turns barren cuz we don’t have water.
 
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