The unconventional may be the new conventional The unconventional may be the new conventional Converting barren lands of despair into lush green fields of prosperity is an unambiguous target. How to achieve that is a matter of debate for many. The world is moving to what it calls smart agriculture, that includes going for quickly maturing seeds and varieties that also have in-built mechanism for facing extreme weather events like highly wet conditions to severe droughts. For Pakistan to take its agriculture forward, it is perhaps time to go unconventional … go smart!
Transcript
The unconventional may bethe new conventionalThe unconventional may bethe new conventional
Converting barren lands of despair into lush green fields of prosperity is an unambiguous target. How to achieve that is a matter of debate for many. The world is moving to what it calls smartagriculture, that includes going for quickly maturing seeds and varieties that also have in-built mechanism for facing extreme weather events like highly wet conditions to severe droughts. For Pakistan to take its agriculture forward, it is perhaps time to go unconventional … go smart!
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 20142
INALLY, Pakistan now hasan Agriculture and FoodSecurity Policy in place.Authored by the Ministryof National Food Securityand Research, the policy
can only be welcomed as it hasbrought some conceptual frame-work to a policy area that had beenmissing from the national scene sofar. Its absence only allowed thefood security situation to worsen bythe year and even, as some wouldsay, months.
But the effort deserves a singlecheer and the remaining two – ofthe three proverbial cheers – can,and shall, be kept for some laterstage. After all, the policy dealswith one out of the three contoursof food security as the internationalcommunity conceives it.
As put by the Food andAgriculture Organisation (FAO),“it exists when all people, at alltimes, have physical and economicaccess to sufficient, safe and nutri-tious food to meet their dietaryneeds and food preferences for anactive and healthy life”. Nationalfood security thus encompassesthree elements: availability, acces-sibility and, most important in thePakistani context, affordability.
The entire federal documentdeals with only one factor, which is:availability, as interpreted by theministry concerned, and the min-istry thinks of it only as a matter ofagriculture production. That is whyit tells us how the ministryplans to increase pro-duction, keepingquiet on the othertwo main ele-ments.
The 23-pagescript detailshow insecureagriculture hasbecome in thecountry. In its firstsection (ChallengesFacing Agriculture), theauthors have listed lack ofinnovation, technology dissemina-tion, inefficient water usage, sup-ply chain management, investment(or lack of it), pest and diseases,rural poverty and food security, cli-mate change and need for a newpolicy to deal with them.
In the next section of
‘Agriculture and FoodSecurity – a new direc-
tion’, the documentstresses the need for innova-
tion, technology transfer, gover-nance and institutional reforms, fis-cal and trade measures and sus-tainability.
Finally, under National FlagshipProgrammes, it wants to promotehigh-value crops, develop environ-mentally fragile areas, improvefood and nutrition, and promote a
network of service providers.It is thus more of an agriculture
policy rather than a food securityone. What reduces the worth of thedocument even more is the factthat agriculture sector, which hasconsumed the entire script, doesnot belong to the federal govern-ment; it is a provincial subject thathas nothing to do with the federa-tion.
The federal policy dealing withagriculture can thus be taken as an
infringement on provincial autono-my, which provides guidelines andsets targets for an area, which doesnot belong to it. On two other issues– accessibility and affordability –that are federal jurisdiction, thedocument is simply quiet.
For these reasons, there is per-haps need to rehash the documentand tailor it according to interna-tional conceptual and policy stan-dards and local constitutional reali-ties.
After the 18th Amendment, foragriculture production (read avail-ability), the ministry can only talkto the provinces, which now ownthe sector in its entirety.
For accessibility, the ministrycan act as a federal bargainingagent among the federating unitsand ensure that food remains acces-sible to people throughout thecountry and pursue it through poli-cy measures.
For the affordability factor, it has
to ensure targeted subsidies so thatthe poor segments of the societycan afford to have food on thetable. That is how the policy can bebetter placed in the national con-text and may yield better results.
Even in that context, the ministrywould have its hands full becausethese two areas involve massiveplanning and implementation workof their own. That is also why the
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The maze of food securityFBy AHMAD FRAZ KHAN
At long last the country now has an official policy in place, but it has certain rough edges that need to be sorted outrather urgently as more than half of the population has already become food-insecure.
THE very people who ensure food security for the whole nation unfortunately remain seriously food-insecure and surrounded by poverty in all its horrendous forms.
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GRICULTURE was onceseen as the base of a well-fed, secure and healthypopulation. National sov-ereignty was discussed interms of a country’s abili-
ty to feed its population using itsown resources. Even after decadesof official neglect the sector con-tinues to enjoy unquestioned sym-bolism and no image of nationalprosperity and well-being seemscomplete without a picture of agolden wheat field. But is agricul-ture still relevant for nutrition inPakistan?
The country has data that isamong the worst nutrition statisticsin the world, with two out of everyfive children suffering from chronicmalnutrition and half of all womenconsidered anaemic. And therehave been no improvementsdespite periods of economic andagricultural growth.
Research currently being under-taken as part of the ‘LeveragingAgriculture for Nutrition in SouthAsia’ research programme suggeststhat agriculture is still relevant toimproving nutrition, but not in theway that most people think.
Is agriculture important asan economic sector?
The contribution of agriculture tothe GDP has declined to under aquarter in Pakistan, but the sectorstill employs 45 per cent of thelabour force. There have, however,been changes to the composition ofthe agricultural workforce. AsTable I shows, proportion of themale workforce employed in agri-culture has been declining over theyears, but agriculture remains thelargest employer of women work-ers, and women now representalmost two-fifth of the agriculturallabour force.
Is agriculture growing anddoes that help?
In the 1980s, agricultural growthwas close to overall GDP growthrates. From the 1990s onwards agri-cultural growth dipped well belowGDP growth and this remained thecase till the late 2000s when agri-
cultural growth experienced a turn-around.
World prices and national poli-cies were partly responsible for thisrebound. The government is aninfluential player in the wheat mar-ket, and the price at which it pur-chases from producers has a bigimpact on farmer incomes.
In the past, the government keptprocurement prices low to cushionthe consumers. However, the gov-ernment’s ability to shield the localmarket from global forces has erod-ed as agricultural products are
smuggled to neighbouring coun-tries at global prices.
In 2008 the National Task Forceon Food Security, formed as aresult of the wheat crisis, recog-nised these market conditions andchanged the objective of wheatpricing to ensure price stability andprevent shortages by creating pari-ty between prices paid to farmerswith global market prices.
This policy change was partlyresponsible for boosting the nation-al wheat output. This episodeshows that the conventional view
that agricultural growth will direct-ly lead to a better fed and healthierpopulation no longer holds; if itever did.
A policy that led to growth infood output and to higher incomefor farmers could not, by itself,guarantee that the food reached allthose who needed it the most.
Do farmers eat better dueto agricultural growth?
Even if policies leading to agri-cultural growth may not directly
benefit poor urban consumers, andthat other measures might be need-ed to protect them, do these poli-cies at least improve rural nutri-tion?
The most direct connectionbetween agriculture and nutritionis that agriculture is asource of food espe-cially for agricul-tural house-holds. Sincemany ruralhouseholdsc o n s u m e
the food that they produce, increas-ing food output should surely allowthem to eat better.
There is evidence that land-own-ing agricultural households whoown land consume more calories onaverage than those who do not ownland. But almost half of rural house-
holds in Pakistan are landless,and, as Table II shows, about
30 per cent own less thanfive acres of land.
Land ownership inPakistan is highly skewedas 72 per cent of ruralhouseholds owned onlysix per cent of the total
area compared to the topone per cent who has own-
ership of 30 per cent of agri-cultural land holdings.
Since some of the landless andsmallholders rent in land from larg-er landowners, families other thanthose who own land have someaccess to farming. But then thereare the agricultural labourers whomake up around a sixth of the agri-cultural workforce.
They constitute the poorest classin agriculture and benefit fromagricultural growth only if it leadsto a rise in their wages.Agricultural growth can lead toincreases in the cash and food earn-ings of poor rural families especial-ly women.
Is the food consumption enough for nutrition?
In fact, nutritional outcomes aredriven by a range of factors, includ-ing consumption of nutritious food,access to healthcare, water, sanita-tion and hygiene, education, knowl-edge about healthy practices, andpro-nutrition behaviour such asbreastfeeding of infants.
The availability of food is an
Continued on Page 10
Nutrition is a challenge in itselfABy MYSBAH BALAGAMWALA& HARIS GAZDAR
A lot of non-food factors have to do with the outreach and quality of public goods and services that aim at ensuring a well-fed population, but an efficient interface with agriculture remains critical.
THE faces tell their own story about the nutritional status of the majority of national population ... especially of Rural Pakistan.
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PTIMUM availability andaccess to water for agri-cultural production is anessential ingredient.There are several mythsand assumptions that sur-
round the water availability sce-nario in Pakistan. Development ofmega projects for water storageand distribution for better produc-tion; high investment in irrigationtechnology as a means of generat-ing proportionally high yields; sci-entifically formulated remediesfor the spread-out waterbornefarming disorders and the per-ceived supremacy of so-calledmodern ways of irrigation prac-tices over indigenous approachesare few of them.
It is believed that the introduc-tion of futuristic technologies andinitiatives for water managementcan help address the various prob-lems commonly observed in ouragriculture sector.
Many studies by internationaland national agencies, such asGlobal Water Partnership, havehighlighted the urgent need toaddress the water resource devel-opment and management issueson a top priority basis. This sce-nario needs a dispassionate andobjective review.
The growth in agricultural pro-duction was set a target offour per cent during2012-13. The assess-ment done by sev-eral experts andcorroborated bythe figures col-lected by thePakistan Bureauof Statistics (PBS)inform us that thegrowth performanceremained much belowat 3.3 per cent.
Heavy rains in Sindh andPunjab damaged the crops, infra-structure and other farmingassets. The unprecedented inter-ruptions caused in the water sup-ply to farmlands were anothergeneral observation.
The government has set fairlyambitious targets for the currentfinancial year. It has stipulated acumulative growth target of 3.8 percent in crops, 3.9 per cent in live-stock, 3.7 per cent in forestry and
two per cent in fisheries.It may be kept in view that
these targets cannot be met with-out optimum facilitation of irriga-tion water and protection fromwaterborne disasters.
The federal government hasapportioned a hefty sum of Rs60billion for water-related projectsin the Public Sector DevelopmentProgramme (PSDP) in 2013-14,which shows an increase in alloca-tion by more than 20% from theprevious year.
The crucial question that
remains to be answered iswhether the choice of projects hasbeen strategic or not. It is alsounclear as to how the governmentis planning to stem the highlyrampant mismanagement and cor-ruption in the implementation ofprojects, which becomes a majorhurdle in the full realisation ofinvestment benefits in the sector.
Information received from thevarious government sources sug-gests that the macro-scale wateravailability shall continue to facestress in the near future.
Estimated availability of water inthe country is 142 million acrefeet (MAF).
In 2012-13, 137.5 MAF was avail-able with 87.03 MAF from surfacewater resource and 50.2 MAFfrom ground water resources. Thecountry has over 200,000 tube-wells installed in various locationswith potential of water re-charge.One-fourth of these tube wells runon electricity while the remainingutilise diesel as the main fuel. Thepast few years have witnessed anexponential rise in the tariffs and
rates of both the inputs.It is believed that many small
and medium-scale farmers werenot able to realise the full poten-tial of ground water as they couldnot afford to run the tubewells forthe required time. It is reportedthat about two MAF water couldnot be harnessed due to this short-coming.
While one may question theveracity of statistics or the mecha-nisms of information collection, itis but obvious that water resourceutilisation is a core issue that
needs a holistic response from allthe stakeholders.
Pakistan is one of those coun-tries that are facing implicationsof climate change on the overallwater supply scenario. Accordingto a report by Global WaterPartnership, the country has beendrastically affected by anomalouschanges in climate with virtuallyno preparedness developed tocombat the situation.
It may be remembered that theeconomic well-being of the coun-try is almost entirely connectedwith optimum supply and distribu-tion of waters from Indus andother smaller river systems.Glacier melts, snow melts, run-offsand rain are the contributors toriver waters.
The report has many urgentwarning signals for the federal andprovincial authorities. It says thatdue to increased temperatures andrising evaporation rates, the avail-ability of river waters shall declineduring the coming years.
The glaciers along Hindu Kush,Karakoram and Himalayan moun-tain zone shall also be impacteddue to the rising carbon sootdeposits from transboundarysources of pollution.
During monsoons, floods mayhit land across the Indus river sys-tem due to consequent meltdownof glacier systems.
In the same respect, capacity ofagricultural research has not beenable to investigate and providewater-effective options for sub-sec-tors such as livestock and rice.Rain water harvesting and effec-tive diversion of flood waters isanother core area where the poten-tial has not been fully utilised.
Water distribution and appor-tionment has many irregularitiesand inefficiencies commonly
Continued on Page 13
Beyond myths and conflictsOBy DR NOMAN AHMED
A number of development targets can never be met without optimum facilitation of irrigation water and protection fromwater-related disasters. Consensus and commitment can well be the key words in this regard.
A SIGHT that is as wonderful as it is rare. Often the water-flow goes down to a trickle when it is needed the most.
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 20146
N the last one year, two officialreports and one seminar of cli-matologists stressedPakistan’s, and its agricul-ture’s, vulnerability to climatechange. All of them warned
the planners with different calcula-tions and advices to prepare forwhat they called impending crisis,which can turn into disaster if notcontained and controlled.
The Federal Ministry forEnvironment rang the first warningbell when, in a report –Vulnerability to Climate ChangeThreats – it painted a scary pictureof what can happen to Pakistan andits agriculture sector if the situa-tion was not managed.
Then came a warning by theState Bank of Pakistan (AnnualReport 2013) where it claimed thatthe term climate changewas not just a glob-al debate, but amajor threatto Pakistan;particularly,when it rais-es risks forfood securi-ty for thec o u n t r y .E s t i m a t i n gthat tempera-ture might rise by0.6 to one Celsius by2030, it warned that the changemay take wheat production downby 1.5-2.5 per cent, and rice by twoto four per cent.
Both were followed by a seminarat the University of Agriculture,Faisalabad (UAF), which houses afull-fledged department onAgriculture Climatology, whichranked Pakistan as the eighth mostvulnerable country to the menaceof changing climate, and tried tocalculate the cost of such vulnera-bility for the agriculture sector andin the context of national food secu-rity.
The proverbial devil is in thedetails of these reports and theseminar. The Ministry ofEnvironment listed nine areas ofhuman existence that are under cli-mate threat; out of them six aredirectly related to agriculture.
It claimed that carbonaceousfilth has started flowing into Induswater, pouring in from the glaciers,
which would have hazardous conse-quences for life of every kind thatdepends on the Indus basin.
The activity is taking place in allthree mountain ranges – theHindukush, the Karakoram and theHimalayas – that feed the rivers ofPakistan.
Apart from this general climaticthreat, the agriculture sector maysuffer from some specific ones.
They include considerable increasein frequency and intensity ofextreme weather events; recessionof glaciers due to global warmingand carbon soot deposits fromtrans-boundary pollution;increased silt in dams caused byfrequent, flash and intense floods;increased temperature resulting inenhanced heat- and water-stressedconditions, particularly in arid and
semi-arid regions; intrusion ofsaline water in the Indus delta,threatening coastal agriculture andmangroves and tension betweenupper and lower riparian in water-stress periods.
Of the six areas pointed out bythe Ministry of Environment, themost crucial one is change in tem-perature, with all other being itsoff-shoots.
The report of the UAF academi-cians also confirms the changingpattern of temperature morespecifically. Dividing the entire21st century into three time spans(up to 2040, 2070 and the rest), theycalculated that the average daytemperature would increase by 2.8degrees Celsius by 2040.
Even more threatening would bethe rise in night temperature by 2.2
degrees Celsius during the sameperiod. Their calculation aboutweather is scarier than the one bythe State Bank (SBP). If, as put bythe SBP, 0.6 to one degree Celsiusby 2030 can cost wheat productionto the tune of 1.5-2.5 per cent andrice by two to four per cent, it is nothard to calculate the additionalcost of the 2.8 degrees Celsius vari-ation. It would also reinforce allthose streams of impact pointed outby the Federal Ministry ofEnvironment as well.
Since the university is studyingthe impact of climate change onwheat-rice cycle, its researchers aremore worried about the rise innight temperature; it is coolernights that play huge part in thegrowth of both the crops.
They bring both quantity (healthand grain weight) and quality
Continued on Page 11
Alarm bells ringing
IBy FRAZ A. KHAN
Pakistan’s vulnerability to the phenomenon of climate change is scary and needs to be taken withthe seriousness it deserves. It may well transform the scene of agriculture as we know it.
A DRY riverbed is no more an uncommon happening in the country. Nature does play a part, but it is up to the humans to come up with a strategy.
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Continued from Page 2
ministry does not have to take uponitself what it does not have to.
As far as production is con-cerned, only the provinces areentitled to decide, plan and exe-cute. But, the federation can stillhelp, and it should for a numberof reasons. It is constitutionallybound to keep food “available,accessible and affordable” in thewhole country and also beequipped with legal instrumentsto keep the domestic markets sta-ble – by clearing gluts (export)and meet shortages (import).
The federal policies – mone-tary, fiscal and taxation – havemajor bearing on food availabili-ty, accessibility and affordability.It is the federation which has toprovide the agriculture sector anenabling environment by import-ing inputs and implements. Theseare the major areas where theministry should be working.
It should also be workingbecause of the nature of federa-tion and food realities. It has fivefederating units – Gilgit-Baltistanbeing the fifth – and all of themdiffer hugely in their naturalendowments and, consequently,agriculture production.
Of the five units, only thePunjab has farm surpluses. Sindhhardly breaks even. Theremaining threeface a dreadfuldeficit onalmost allfood itemsand dependupon inter-provincialtransporta-tion to meeteven thebasic needs. Inthese circum-stances, the federalrole assumes added significanceas far as food marketing is con-cerned.
them into provincial productiontargets, assigning them to the rel-evant federating units and arrang-ing (importing) inputs to help theprovinces achieve those targets.
Only the federation, with solerights to imports and exports andaccess to national data, canensure such planning, target-set-ting and achievement of thosetargets. The process also includessmooth supply of inputs – seeds,pesticides and fertilisers – andexport of surpluses to keep the
domestic market stable.As far as pricing – the afford-
ability factor – is concerned, theministry needs to work hard on itbecause it can only be dealt withby the federation for three rea-sons: national social data, provin-cial parochialism and monetaryand fiscal policies.
Only the federation has thenational and regional povertypicture in hand at the planningstage. The provinces can onlyplan on the basis of their ownspecific realities.
The Punjab would never knowhow much food is required in aparticular part of Balochistan or,for that matter, the NorthernAreas. Even more importantly,when it is required and what isthe purchasing power of peoplein those areas.
The price factor assumes themost crucial role, especiallywhen it comes to staple food,because of provincial bias thatpervades Pakistan. And, giventhe wretchedness of poverty, itwill be federally, politically andsocially explosive if one province,or its farmer, is seen makingmoney at the cost of people of theother federating units.
Without the national planningcomponent, any province (thePunjab, for example) can justifi-ably claim that it did not produceas much as what is nationallyrequired and, as such, the dem-and-supply equation has pushedthe price of a commodity up.
If flour is sold at Rs30 per kilo-gramme in the Punjab and atRs65 per kilogramme in
Balochistan, how would it impactthe federation? It may actuallybe millers or traders makingmoney, but who can stop it frombeing read in the provincial con-text, fanning anti-province andanti-federation feelings?
Even if production suffers forany reason — be it mismanage-ment or climatic — in oneprovince, will the others under-stand? Who would convince otherunits about the validity of thatreason given the level of provin-cial mistrust? That is perhaps amore important area on whichthe ministry needs to concentrateand spend its energies.
For food security to margin-alised segments of society, theministry should have taken somecue from the Indians who werealso preparing their FoodSecurity Act when the ministrywas compiling its version.
The Indians finalised an actthat clearly dealt with the afford-ability factor. According to thedocument, the Indian govern-ment plans to provide 68 per centof its population essential food atalmost dirt cheap prices, movingtowards an almost free supply by2016.
It makes the programme thebiggest subsidy plan in the globeright now. The basis of such aprogramme was provide byanother programme that theylaunched a few years ago underwhich they identified those dis-tricts that lag behind the nationalaverage of productivity and alsolocated those fields that wereperforming poorly.
The government started sup-plying seeds, inputs, loans andtraining to the owners and liftedthem to the national average ofproductivity. On the basis of thatproductivity, now the Indianshave launched the world’sbiggest subsidised food supplyprogramme. They have done itrecently, and there is no reasonwhy Pakistan cannot replicate ithere if it plans on the same lines.
The ministry thus needs to firstclarify what role it is left with afterthe 18th Amendment and how itplans to play. Any interference inprovincial matters would only cre-ate confusion or even draw politi-cal and constitutional reactions.That needs to be avoided.
It should thus sit with theprovinces, take a holistic view ofthe subject and plan accordingly.It is naturally a bigger politicalissue that the sitting PML-N gov-ernment needs to take up withother political parties ruling thefederating units and take thematter to the Council of CommonInterest (CCI).
People have expectations ofthe government on the issuebecause it was part of the PML-Nmanifesto and electioneering toturn food security into individualfundamental right.
It is time to direct more nation-al energies towards food securityissues because more than half ofthe population has alreadybecome food-insecure.
If ignored, things can get worsequickly because the social bal-ance is disastrously tippingagainst the poor. ■
Maze of marginalisationPOLICIES only at the federal level can bring about a meaningful change to the life of the farmer for only the federation has access to the larger picture.
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important component of whataccounts for good nutrition, but it isone among many.
Many of these factors have littleto do directly with agriculture. It istrue, of course, that higher ruralincomes can lead to pro-nutritionchoices along many dimensions.
For example, our research hasshown that the value of dietarydiversity is well understood evenby those who are constrained bypoverty to subsisting on breadalone.
When asked what they would dowith additional income, these fami-lies list the nutritious foods theywould purchase for their children,and the healthcare measure theywould take.
For a large proportion of the pop-ulation, even affording soap foreveryday washing of hands by allfamily members many times a dayrepresents a challenge.
But, perhaps more importantly, itis widely known due the work ofworld-renowned economists suchas Jean Dreze and the NobelLaureate Amartya Sen that a lot ofthe non-food factors have to do withthe outreach and quality of publicgoods and services. Surely theseissues are beyond the remit of agri-culture.
Who cares and does it matter?
What are less well-acknowl-edged are private incomes, andpublic action can only help if com-plemented by the provision of care
within the household. The amountof time and effort that childrenreceive from adults determineshow well any improvements infood availability are utilised, orhow promptly health support issought.
Care is largely unacknowledgedbecause it is almost entirely per-formed by women, and it isassumed by the policy-makers andthe wider population alike thatwomen will be at hand to providecare.
Acknowledgement mightbecome the first step towards thelong journey to challenging thispatriarchal norm.
This assumption is being chal-lenged progressively by feministcritics who argue not only for therecognition of women’s work in the
economy, but also the work they dowithin the household to look afterchildren and others.
This assumption is also beingchallenged now by the way inwhich the agricultural workforceappears to be changing. Theincreasing reliance of the sector onwomen workers means that agricul-ture may now be drawing on one ofthe most important resources thatmight contribute to nutritionimprovement.
Agriculture still matters,perhaps more than ever
Women’s work in farming, notonly in cotton-picking, wheat har-vesting, dairy production and veg-etable processing, is as essential forthe national economy as it is for the
economies of the poor labouringfamilies which these women sus-tain.
An important question is, who ispaying the price? Available evi-dence from India suggests that thecost to women’s own health andthat of their children becomes visi-ble through adverse nutrition sta-tistics.
Our own research will try touncover if the same is the case inPakistan, and what might be doneabout it. Perhaps it is no coinci-dence that some of the regionswith the worst statistics forwomen and children’s nutritionare those whose prosperous farmsectors rely the most on women’swork.
Agriculture, therefore, yet has animportant role to play in improving
nutrition in Pakistan. It is already asource of income for women whoare known to make pro-nutritionchoices in how household resources
are spent. Women will not,of course, stop
working infarming andit would be agrave injus-tice to arguethat theyought to con-
tinue carryingthe burden of
work and care.But agricultural poli-
cies can become more sensi-tive to concerns of women, and byso doing will become more sensi-tive to nutrition.
We can and should use existingsupport programmes such as theBenazir Income SupportProgramme (BISP) and the Sindhwomen’s land grants scheme toincrease options for women whoneed the cash to care for their chil-dren, and are left trying to main-tain a precarious balance betweenearning an income and having thetime and energy to look after them-selves and their children. ■
The big challenge of basic nutrition
ON the gender scale, the male farmer is much better off than his female counterpart.
Source: Calculations based onAgriculture Census 2000 and PopulationCensus 1998
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(aroma, length and water absorp-tion and retention) to the rice cropand turn it into what it is known forthe world over.
In the case of wheat, it is mildMarch – especially nights – that fillsthe grain and determines produc-tivity and size of the national yield.If March turns out to be hotter thanexpected, the wheat crop is histori-cally known to flunk badly. It leadsto shrivelling of the grain that maycost up to 30 per cent of the yield.
With weather element compro-mised, rice runs the risk of loosingadditional attraction in the worldmarket.
The researchers think that theprocess has, in fact, already begun,which is reflected in changing pat-tern of rains in the last decadeor so. Because of this cli-mate change phenome-non, the monsoon peri-od has progressivelyadvanced to June.
With the help ofrain data, they insistthat rain spell nowstarts as early as June,as happened the lastyear – a new phenome-non which is now referredto as ‘pre-monsoon’, whichmerges with the traditional mon-soon period of August andSeptember.
This early onset of rain takes itout of sync with the traditional agri-culture anatomy. It rains when it isnot required, and it does not whenit is needed. This has emerged as aregular pattern in the last decadeor so.
Extreme weather events likefloods and droughts, extremely lessor untimely torrential rains have
become a regularpattern since 2008
and during the sameperiod the country has also
suffered extreme cold and hotweather, breaking decades-oldrecords and causing huge agricul-tural losses – sweeping standingcrops, creating extremely wet anddrought conditions and finallychanging pest character in thecountry.
The situation is bound to changeagriculture and crop modelling thathas evolved over centuries of agri-cultural practices in the region thattoday represents Pakistan in geo-
graphical terms. The world is moving to what it
calls smart agriculture; going forquickly maturing seeds and vari-eties, which also have in-builtmechanism for facing extremeweather events like highly wet con-ditions to droughts. It may be theonly way, just as it for the world atlarge, for Pakistan to take its agri-culture forward.
As the international pattern sug-gests, the developed world, whichwas the first to study change and itsimpact, all efforts must begin withthe seed sector. Unfortunately, thisis the most chaotic area in
Pakistan’s agriculture.Without legislative and adminis-
trative cover, the entire market hasbecome happy hunting ground forprofiteers, needless to say at thecost of the farmers. The situation isbest depicted in cotton seed – acrop that generates over 70 percent of exports.
In the last decade or so, since theintroduction of Bt variety, the coun-try is having around seven newseeds every year. These seven seedvarieties are doing rounds in thecountry, without any standardisa-tion and marketing ethics.
The ease with which the seed-
sellers join the market, they alsodisappear with the same comfortafter fleecing the farmers. No onereally knows how many havejoined and quit the market in thelast decade because there is nei-ther any entry requirement nor abar on exit. No one knows the dif-ference between grain and seedbecause, as they say, everythingsells.
Pakistan would do well to studythe impact of climate change oneach crop and livestock and startchanging its strategies – beginningwith the seed of course. To beginwith, it needs seeds that absorb or
at least minimise the impact ofchanging climate.
In the next stage, it has toimprove its extension services totrain farmers as per the require-ment of those seeds, and simultane-ously induct new technologies tosave its agriculture; agriculture aswe know it. Otherwise, the situa-tion can quickly spin out of itshands and cause social havoc in thecountry.
Fortunately, it has voluminouscompendium on climate changeand its possible effects. What weneed is an action plan to deal withit. ■
Alarmbellsringing
WHEN the riverbeds are not dry, they are often overflowing with equally disastrous consequences.
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 201412
S the summers are approaching,the worries of the common manare on the rise. The anticipatedpower shortfall is likely to hit alland sundry, baring the privileged.In respect of economic sectors,
agriculture is likely to slide down on thepriority scale of energy distribution.
According to a State Bank Report of2011, less than four per cent electricityproduced in the country was consumed bythe agricultural sector. Not much changehas been reported in respect to allocationof electricity quota for this key sector.
Essential infrastructure such as tube-wells and cold storages suffer immenselywhen the power distribution comes face toface with the usual challenge of highdemand syndrome during the summer.
It has now become an obvious fact thatthe agricultural sector needs innovativesolutions, detached from the usual gridsand centralised production and dispatchmechanisms.
Out-of-box alternatives are needed toresolve this longstanding issue that has crip-pled farm management and production.
The country possesses enormous poten-tial to capitalise on co-generation optionsfrom different types of agricul-tural waste. There areover 100 sugar millsacross the countrythat utilise thelocally-grown sug-arcane. All acrossthe world, energyis produced byusing bagassewhich is a by-prod-uct in sugar manu-facturing. This poten-tial is presently utilisedto a very limited extent. Astudy by the Punjab Board of Investmentinforms us that the total potential of elec-tricity generation from sugar mills is in therange of 3000MW. The present output isonly 700 MW.
It goes without saying that it needs a rig-orous follow-up to utilise this enormousbut dormant avenue of power generationin this state of acute shortage.
Similarly, a pilot project is being con-
ceived in the Landhi Cattle Colonyin Karachi for generating about 38MW
of power from the biogas.The facility has more than 400,000 cattle
heads and produces more than 7,700tonnes of cow dung. This has all the poten-tial to be utilised for power generation.
The country has many locations whichhave concentrated presences of cattle.Each location can be transformed into apower-generation outlet through efficientbiogas plants.
These initiatives, if undertaken withbusiness acumen and keeping the focus on
technical merit, shall not only bolster agro-production in respective locations, but willalso help eradicate poverty.
Having said that, some pre-requisiteshave to be instituted in order to reap thefull advantage of this strategic asset. Theproject should be planned on a long-termbasis after taking into account the cumula-tive benefits and outcomes.
Utmost care should be taken to maintaintransparency in the award of contracts,acquisition of supplies and services. Andbest possible international collaboratorsmay be engaged to foster long-term work-
ing relationships.Unless we learn to think out of the box
and act in a timely manner, the power cri-sis shall continue to haunt our nationallife.
A step in the right direction is the deci-sion of the Punjab government to utilisecrop waste for generating electricity. Theprovince is estimated to produce around28 million tonnes of crop waste includinghusk, from wheat, cotton sticks and othercereal crops.
Multan, Faisalabad, Daska, Kala ShahKaku and Rahim Yar Khan have been
announced as the chosen locations. ThePunjab government is in the process offinalising the nuts and bolts of the agree-ment.
It must be ensured that the necessarypre-requisites are properly followed.Transparent process to select the consul-tants and contractors, ensuring an efficientsupply chain for crop waste and using theenterprise for local poverty-eradicationare some possible steps.
A distribution priority list may also beworked out by the provincial governmentto ensure that agriculture sector receivesthe privilege, being the supplier of keyinput.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh can fol-low in the footsteps of Punjab as they havehuge generation of crop wastes which canbe utilised for inexpensive and depend-able energy generation.
Small-scale hydro power projects areanother viable option. The Punjab govern-ment has launched several initiatives oflow-head hydro power projects on canalsin the province.
A study by Engr. Mazhar Hussaininforms that Punjab possesses 316 identi-fied sites on canal falls with a total outputpotential of 480MW.
It is important to note that most of thesepotential sites are surrounded by vastcroplands and agricultural territories. Inthis sector alone, enormous untappedpotential remains to be attended.
However, the progress on these projectsis moving at a pace which can be describedas less than desirable. The typical wran-gling between Alternative EnergyDevelopment Board (AEDB) and thePunjab government is reported to havekept genuine investors at bay from launch-ing worthwhile initiatives.
The absence of positive support towardshydro power machinery, spare parts andtechnical services is another barrier. Itmay be useful if large industrial enterpris-es such as the Heavy Mechanical Complexmay be invited to help develop this muchneeded machinery at competitive pricescales and acceptable quality standards.
It is widely believed within the commu-nity of experts that the agro production islikely to benefit from these ventures to the
Continued on Page 17
Energising the futureABy DR NOMAN AHMED
Punjab is leading the effort to look beyond the immediate and move away fromthe conventional. Others need to follow so that a collective momentum could begenerated to take the country forward both agriculturally and otherwise.
THERE are more wires, cables and poles on the horizon than actual power.
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 2014 13
HE evolutionary process of poultryindustry is gathering some pace inPakistan and one hopes that theindustry evolves in the processingsector with as much pace as it didin other areas after the bird flu
threat almost decimated it. Overall, this isa welcome process for the country.
To the critics, however, the industry ismaking so much profit in a carteliseddomestic market that it has no need to lookfor foreign ones, where it would have tosweat hard to compete with big playersaround the world. On the contrary, thedomestic market is much less quality-con-scious and one can easily be tricked intobuying substandard products. The industryis thus not inclined to go out and competefor share in the world market, the criticsbelieve.
The industry, however, defends itself,saying that export is not exclusively a mat-ter of price and hygiene. There are a num-ber of hindrances that need governmentattention. Like, successive governmentshave failed to incentivise exports. Theynever bothered for necessary bilateral andmulti-lateral agreements to provide theindustry an enabling export environment.To quote one possibility, over $600 billionhalal meat market exists out there towhich Pakistan can be the most legitimateclaimant because it religiously, sociallyand culturally raises all its livestock withhalal practices and feeds. There is a longlist of potential markets such as the GCC,the European Union and North America,but the government has not helped theindustry tap them through necessaryagreements.
Of late, however, some GCC states haveshown interest in imports from Pakistanand their delegations did visit facilitieshere and found them modern enough toimpress them. The industry is now in theprocess of putting up mechanisms toensure quality exports to such countriesand hopes to start doing it in the next fewmonths. But all this has been done by theindustry on its own.
Denying cartelisation accusations, theindustry insists that with thousands offarms spread around the country, it is near-ly impossible for all of them to cartelise themarket. Contrary to popular perception, itwas in fact losing money in the local mar-ket. Psychologically, people take short-term peak prices as reference point for theentire year to blame the industry. Butwhen they dip below the cost of productionand the industry starts losing money, noone notices.
The losses it suffers due to almost non-
existent regulatory regime are also notaccounted for. For example, there haspractically been no bar for distancebetween two sheds. It has hurt the industryon two accounts: it led to concentration offarms in some regions and others arealmost without them and caused spread ofdisease from one shed to another, creatingperiodic havoc for the industry.
The traders, however, still maintainthat industry needs to keep its commer-cial operations more transparent toescape cartelisation charges. After all, itwas the poultry industry that was fined bythe Competition Commission of Pakistanfor manipulating prices. The industryalways hides behind the demand-supplymechanism for price determination. But itconveniently forgets that it controls thesupply side. If it goes slow, as it has beenaccused of doing both by market watchersand the government officials, it can keepthe markets on short supply and highprofits.
The CCP had also accused it of deliber-ate under-performance for profits. Theyalso maintain that there may be thousandsof farms spread all over Pakistan, but a
handful control over 60 per cent of themarket share.
The industry also blames the increasingprices of feed for high prices, with somemeasure of justification. After all, a feedbag, which used to cost Rs600 in2008, has now seen its priceescalating to over Rs2,200.With feed costing over 70per cent of the total cost ofproduction, increase inchicken prices becomesinevitable. But it is also afact that the industry doesnothing to keep feed priceslow. The entire work donefor corn production, the mainingredient of feed, is done bythe seed sellers, not the poultryindustry.
The debate surrounding the poultryindustry is expected to continue for tworeasons. Firstly, the industry is evolvingand the evolution, as always, has its ownuncertainties. Secondly, the governmenthas failed to bring in any regulatory mech-anism; neither for quality of productionnor for price stability. ■
A chicken-or-egg story
TBy AHMAD F. KHAN
In the face of a barrage of criticism, the poultry industrydefends itself with its own litany of woes.
Continued from Page 5
observed at inter-provincial and inter-regional levels. The complaints of tail-end farmers are rising at a rapid paceregarding unavailability of sufficientwater during relevant timings.
Water-logging and salinity is continu-ously rising due to poor farm manage-ment and inappropriate drainage infra-structure. A recent threat experienced inthe central part of the country is theincrease of sewage discharges into rivers.
Many of these discharges containheavy metals and other toxic ingredientsthat render irreparable damage upon thefarm lands. The case of Ravi is an exam-ple which has shown high escalation inpollution. Precious soil thus loses its pro-ductivity.
The report warns that southern Punjaband Sindh may lose productivity due towater stress to the tune of 15-20 per centper annum. The crop of wheat and riceshall be greatly impacted.
While water scarcity is an outcome ofclimate change, the unpredictable pat-tern of seasonal and non-seasonal inunda-tions also impact agriculture, along withother sectors of production. This aspecthas to be thoroughly researched.
Land, its utilisation and distribution forvarious purposes makes the foremostpoint for focused investigation and analy-sis. Successive regimes have distributedland in the flood prone locations to politi-cal favourites.
Additionally, the rampantencroachments and unautho-
rised occupation of Sailaba(flood impacted) lands hascaused localised damagesduring the past two floodregimes due to unprece-dented changes in theflood paths.
Construction of local andnational infrastructure with
‘flood insensitive’ designs hasnot only damaged the said
infrastructure, but also the adjoin-ing areas. And large-scale deforestation atdifferent terrains has caused an over-whelming destruction.
Only recently, a provincial chief minis-ter had issued orders of clearing localforests to make way for crop lands. Suchsuicidal policies must be done away withonce and for all. Funds will pour in rea-sonable volume. The fear remains that
they will be ill-spent in the absence of aneffective plan.
Nepotism, corruption and ad-hocismare the usual predicaments. It is only log-ical that re-development works areundertaken in an integrated mannerunder sound planning to ensure long-term performance. Techniques of simula-tion and other scientific tools can makethe planning process articulate and freeof errors.
The above facts are alarming enough totake measures on an emergency footing.And many of these measures have beendebated threadbare time and again.
The progress on the large and medium-scale dam projects should be monitoredvery strictly. Diamer Bhasha dam mustbe completed as per the stipulatedtimetable. Many experts still believethat Kalabagh Dam project should be re-negotiated with the provinces. If politi-cal guarantees and constitutionalarrangements are derived with consen-sus, then Kalabagh Dam can still becomea reality.
This dam can be discussed with lowerriparian provinces by launching support-ive irrigation schemes, inclusion of morenon-arable lands into cultivable areasand repair and replacement of worn outirrigation infrastructure.
If Pakistan will develop increasedcapacity for water storage, it will bolsterlifetime for the teeming millions that areadded to the population every year with-out any effective control.
The concept and application of pipedwater system for irrigation at the tertiarylevel must be introduced. When the openwater distribution canals shall bereplaced by the box culvert-cum-pipingsystem, efficiency shall be greatlyensured on many counts.
The water distribution performanceshall be enhanced due to control on evap-oration. Monitoring of water quantitiesand apportionment shall become accu-rate. Predicaments of tail-end farmersmust be dealt with as a separate issue.
Creation of emergency water storagefacilities, review of crop choices andfarming techniques and the institution ofa conflict resolution mechanism are someoptions.
The government will do well to preparea consensus water vision, plan and pro-gramme for the next decade in order toorganise the long-, medium- and short-term steps in a coordinated manner. ■
Wanted: a water vision
A TYPICAL scene at any poultry far m across the country.
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 201414
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 2014 15
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 201416
GRICULTURAL development inPakistan has been strong androbust in the past if viewed interms of structural transformationof the economy, growth and pover-ty reduction, exports and rural
employment. However, going forward anew set of challenges face the sector andthese are climate change, food security,and water and energy security. Theseemerging trends call for a re-examinationof the future role of agriculture in thenational economy.
Like all other countries going throughtransformation, agriculture’s contributionto GDP has declined to 20 per cent but ittakes care of the food and fibre needs of180 million people of Pakistan.
Its direct contribution to employmentand downstream activities – processing,transportation and supply chain – remainsquite significant. Pakistan’s agriculture-based exports – direct and indirect (usingagricultural raw material) – still accountfor more than one half of the total earn-ings.
As per capita incomes have risen and themiddle class has expanded, there has beena gradual shift towards high-value productssuch as dairy, meat, eggs, fruits and vegeta-bles, fisheries etc. The four major crops –wheat, cotton, rice and sugarcane – whichused to form the bulk, now account for a lit-tle more than one-third of the agriculturesector value added.
Despite such dominant importance ofagriculture in Pakistan’s economy therecent stagnation in agriculture growthrates and farmers’ yields, declining avail-ability of water, and high rate of malnour-ishment have become sources of major con-cern.
The accompanying table shows the agri-culture sector’s growth rates in Pakistanfor the last five decades. From an averagegrowth rate of 5.1 per cent per year – oneof the highest in the developing countries –it has slowed down to 3.2 per cent – a littleabove the population growth rate.
The main reason for this decline andstagnation lies in the gradual erosion ofproductivity gains. Two-thirds of thegrowth in the 1980s emanated from pro-ductivity increase. By 1990s productivityincrease accounted for one-third and in2000s only one-fifth of the average growth.
The gap between the national averageyields and those of the progressive farmershas been widening during the last twodecades. In case of rice and wheat, the gapis about 45 per cent of progressive farmeryields, while in sugarcane it is about 73 percent.
Among the multiple factors responsiblefor losses in agriculture productivity andthe widening gap between the nationalaverage yields and those of the progressivefarmers, one that stands out on the top ofthe list is the inefficiency of Pakistan’snational agriculture research system.
After the big impact of the GreenRevolution technology of fertilisers andseeds tapered off in the 1980s, there hashardly been any major breakthrough inagriculture technology. The agenda forresearch is quite vast and includes develop-ment of high-yielding heat and cold-toler-ant, drought-resistant and short-durationvarieties of field crops, water and soil con-servation technologies, moisture manage-ment, green manuring, precision levelling,tunnel farming, bio-fertilisers, reclamationof saline and water-logged soils, zerotillage, intercropping, and ridge sowing.
Some of the progressive farmers, who areusing some of these technologies alongwith drip and sprinkler irrigation, haveobtained higher returns against theirinvestment. Agriculture credit system andcrop insurance targeted towards small andmedium farmers could induce them toadopt these techniques on their farms.
The national agriculture research systemhas suffered not only because of curtailedbudgetary allocations, but human resourceconstraints, organisational inertia, bureau-
cratic procedures and processes, overlapand lack of clarity in the roles of nationaland provincial agriculture research institu-tions have all contributed to this poor out-come.
Another critical constraint is the poorutilisation of the vast irrigation system. Percapita availability of water has decreasedto 1066 cubic meters, placing Pakistan inthe category of high water-stressed coun-tries.
Any other country which had about 95per cent of arable land cultivated underirrigation would have been a major playerin global food and commercial crops mar-kets by utilising this scarce resource more
efficiently. But this potential has not beenrealised as the total water productivity inPakistan in 2011 remained only one half ofthat of India.
Pakistan produces only 0.13 kilogrammeper cubic meter of water. This shows thetremendous scope of increased GDP andagriculture production if this gap in pro-ductivity is narrowed.
Irrigated crop intensity is also lower.Despite the rate of irrigation expanding at1.4 per cent a year, cropland has beenshrinking at an average 0.4 per cent a year.Mismanagement, mis-governance and poormaintenance of the irrigation system havelimited farmers’ access to water, particular-ly those at the tail-end of the water courses.
Influential and politically well-connectedfarmers receive excessive supplies andwaste water by over-irrigating their landwhile the poor farmers can’t get even oneor two watering in the required quantitiesfor their crops.
Studies have shown that 60 per cent ofthe water delivered at the head does notreach the farms because of transmissionlosses in the distributaries, canals, watercourses and fields. There is also the issue oftiming between the supply and demand forwater. Supply peaks during summer;demand is spread over the year.
Storage capacity that could collect excesswater in the peak season and release itaccording to the demand is inadequate andno big dam has been constructed sinceTarbela in the 1970s. Political controversyhas vitiated the overall atmosphere forbuilding storage dams in the country.
Financial sustainability of the system isanother major area of concern. Water usercharges collected from the farmers amountto a paltry 0.5 per cent of crop revenue anddo not cover even 25 per cent of the opera-
tions and maintenance expenses of the irri-gation canals, channels and courses, accen-tuating vulnerabilities and risks to theintegrity of the system.
The collection rate of these charges isalso low – about 60 per cent of the receiv-ables – forcing the government to subsidisethe irrigation water users. Moreover, thebig farmers are also for all practical pur-poses exempt from paying agricultureincome tax.
The irrigation system therefore, natural-ly suffers from serious underinvestment inbalancing, modernisation, expansion, stor-age, lining of canals, drainage etc. The pre-sent flat rate of irrigation charges is both
inefficient and inequitable. Consumptionby volumes should form the basis forassessment of charges. This would lead toboth water conservation as well as fairnessin burden-sharing.
The impending risks associated with cli-mate change have not yet caught the atten-tion of the policy-makers. Climate changeis mostly likely to melt glaciers, affectdownstream water availability, impact theannual rainfall pattern, and raise the sealevel.
The irrigation system of Pakistan drawsits sustenance for fresh water from theglacial melt of the Himalayas as 70 percent of the flow of the Indus River is con-tributed by this glacial melt. Global warm-ing will accelerate the melting of the glaci-ers, increasing the risk of floods in theshort run due to more run-offs in the rivers.In the long run, there will be shortages ofwater as the run-offs would decline.
A study has shown that by 2050, almost35 per cent of the glaciers will disappearand river run-offs will increase. After that,the glacial recession will result in adecrease in river flows by 30 to 40 per centduring the next 50 years.
Simulation studies depicting various sce-narios of climate change show that the agri-cultural GDP could decline by five per centfrom its base value. However, if an addi-tional 12 MAF (million acre feet) of canalwater out of 106 MAF could be saved andutilised for irrigating cropland, agriculturalGDP could be boosted by 4.2 per cent.
Monsoon rains are a vital source for agri-culture production, supplementing thecanal and ground water use. Warm temper-ature by decreasing rainfall and increasingvariability in the magnitude and timing ofrainfall can result in greater water stress.
Rain-fed agriculture is the main source
of livelihood for the poor population livingin the arid and semi-arid zones of the coun-try. The negative impact of this changingweather pattern would have disastrous con-sequences for their lives. It is projectedthat there would be a decrease in monsoonprecipitation of about 20 per cent inPakistan.
The other risk from climate change is theprobability of increased incidence and fre-quency of extreme weather events such asfloods, droughts, cyclones etc. Floods inPakistan in 2010 affected more than 20million people and were followed bythe floods in Sindh province in2012.
In an environment of system-wide waterstress, declining per capita water availabili-ty for agriculture and food production, andthe growing need for hydropower develop-ment, the likelihood of trans-boundary dis-putes and conflicts between upper ripari-ans and lower riparians are also likely tosurface more intensely.
The retention of water upstream in Indiafor energy generation has already givenrise to serious apprehensions in Pakistanthat this will restrict water flows down-stream for Pakistani farmers.
The Indus Water Basin Treaty providesthe framework in which these disputes areresolved, but in the coming years the over-all shortages of supplies resulting fromglacial melting and precipitation losses willgive rise to greater contention between thetwo countries. A new mechanism will haveto be evolved and agreed upon for settlingthe future disputes.
Climate change will thus impact the agri-culture sector by negatively affecting cropyields with serious consequences for foodsecurity. Rice and wheat yields would bereduced and the overall decline would bebetween two to four per cent by 2020.
There may be a shift in the sowing timedue to heat stress while increased humiditywill heighten the threat of pest attack.Physiological stress may reduce the repro-duction of animals, affecting livestock pro-duction in the country.
A study by IUCN suggests that livestockproduction could decline by 20-30 per centdue to rising temperature, creating crisesin milk, meat and poultry supplies and,consequently, pushing prices beyond thereach of the average Pakistani.
On average, rough estimates show thatPakistan’s agriculture sector could lose $2-16 billion per annum due to change in cli-
mate by the end of the 21st century. The other burning issue that requires
attention is that of food security. Publicpolicy has so far focussed exclusively onincreasing aggregate food production andself-sufficiency in wheat – the staple foodconsumed by most Pakistanis.
Food security has never been an explicitobjective of the policy-makers. The aver-age per capita daily consumption whichwas 2,375 Kcal in 1990s has fallen to 2250Kcal by 2007 compared to 2,630 Kcal indeveloping countries.
Lack of access rather than lack of foodsupply is the main factor behind food inse-curity because per capita food productionindex has increased from 99 in 1991 to 106in 2008. It is estimated that about 15 percent of the wheat crop is lost annually dueto wastage, inefficient handling in procure-ment, distribution and transportation, inad-equate and poor storage facilities.
The other factor is income inequality asalmost half of the population
spends less on food thanrequired for a healthy
and active life. Thesituation gets worsefor those in thelowest incomequintiles.
Average month-ly household con-
sumption in thelowest quintile in
urban areas is onlyone-third of the highest
quintile and less than half ofthe average. This disparity in the consump-tion pattern is an outcome of several fac-tors – open and disguised unemploymentand underemployment, high inflation andlagging real wage rates, absence of socialsafety nets and poor access to healthcareand unhygienic practices related to nutri-tion, child and maternal care.
In last six years, food inflation in urbanareas has outpaced growth in income. Inthe rural areas 60 per cent of the rural pop-ulation buys food from markets.Inflationary pressures therefore hit themequally hard. Although the governmentpays substantial amounts on wheat subsidyin the name of poor urban consumers, butthe beneficiaries are the flour mill owners.
Similarly, the subsidies on fertiliser arealso captured by producers and large farm-ers rather than those for whom the subsidyis intended – small and marginal farmers.
In the case of sugar industry, politicalpatronage rather than consumer welfarehas been the major determinant of publicpolicy. When there is surplus production,the government takes upon itself theresponsibility to purchase the surplussugar from the mill owners and sell it at aloss in international markets.
When there are shortages domestically,imports are delayed until the sugar millshave realised windfall gains by selling athigher market prices.
The Millennium Development Goal(MDG) to reduce the number of undernour-ished population by half by 2015 is unlikelyto be achieved. The latest numbers showthat one in every four of the population isstill malnourished and child nutrition hasnot shown much improvement either.
To sum up, there is a need to rethink ouragriculture sector strategies away from thepast emphasis on production and suppliesalone. The focus should be on addressingthe new challenges that we are likely to facein the next three to four decades. Climatechange, water productivity, food insecurityare the emerging issues that need the atten-tion of public policy-makers. ■
It’s time to rethinkABy ISHRAT HUSAIN
Moving away from the past emphasis on production and supplies, the policy focus shouldbe on addressing the new challenges that we are likely to face in the next few decades.
THE green may not always be as green as it is today just as it is not as green today as it was years ago. We didn’t ensure continuity.
ITERALLY, the word fertilemeans green, productiveand growth-oriented. Giventhis definition fertilisermeans something thatmakes the barren land, cul-
tivated, productive, growing andgreen, The idle becomes dynamic,moving, circulating and more useful.
The history of farming systemtells that since time immemorial, ithas been known that by using chem-ical and natural fertilisers, betteryield of the growing crops can beproduced or deficiencies of the fer-tility from the lands can be min-imised and the barren or infertilelands can be put on the channels ofproduction which will be the sourceof more per-acre yield or earningmore income and raising the livingstandards of the poor cultivators,farmers, landlords, agriculturistsand also field workers who work onthe fields in the rural areas of thecountry throughout the world.
In order to meet the growingneeds of the increasing populationof Pakistan, it has been morally,economically and socially empha-sised by the government and thepeople to grow more food so thatthe increasing number of belliescan be provided food.
The population of Pakistan isincreasing day by day. It is growingat three per cent per year. It hasbeen estimated that by the year2025, the population of the countrywill be about 200 million which is atpresent about 180 million. To meetthe food requirements of such ahuge population, it has been pre-dicted that even if the current percapita wheat consumption stays con-stant, the country has to produceabout 21 million tonnes of wheat ascompared to the current productionof about 15 million tonnes.
In case there is improvement indiet, there will be an overalldemand of 22 million tonnes ofwheat, which is seven milliontonnes more than the present level
or about 47 per cent higher.There are two sources to increase
the future production in agriculturenot only of food crops but of othercash crops either by improving per-acre yield or by expanding cultivat-ed area or increasing the intensity ofcropping patterns or farming system.
The expansion in land for cultiva-tion purpose seems to be impossiblebecause of the exploitation of allwater resources. There remains onlyone possibility of using more mod-ern methods of cultivation by intro-ducing more productive kinds of fer-tilisers for increasing the productivi-ty of all crops so that the increasingneeds of population can be met.
It is why the breakthrough in cere-al production in the mid 1960s,called the Green Revolution, ush-ered in an era where agricultural sci-ence was translated into moderntechniques of improving crop yields.
The advent of plentiful and sub-sidised mineral fertilisers has beenone of the greatest achievements.The use of mineral fertilisers hadhelped to feed growing populationat lower costs in Pakistan and otherdeveloping counties.
It is, therefore, high time toincrease the average wheat yieldfrom 2,000 kilogrammes perhectare to about 3,000 kilogrammesper hectare by the year 2025. This isnot a difficult target to achieve inPakistan because the yield poten-tial in the country is around 4,000kilogrammes per hectare.
Similar efforts may be made forall other crop husbandry, beginningwith better land preparation, timelyplanning of best available varietiesof seeds, proper fertilisation, andthe improved control of weeds, dis-eases and insects.
Such improvements in yields willfurther require proper nutrient bal-ances and soil conservation underrain-fed conditions and better watermanagement under irrigation. It isalso important, keeping into consid-eration modern scientific know-how, to achieve food and fibrerequirements of the growing popu-lation and also economic develop-
ment. The use of mineral fertilisersmust be expanded from two to threefold along with the organic source inorder to maintain soil fertility andincrease in crop productivity.
Impact On Productivity
Contribution of balanced fertili-sation towards increased yield isfrom 30 to 50 per cent in differentcrop production regions of the coun-try. One kilogramme of fertilisernutrient produces about 8 kilo-grammes of cereals (wheat, maizeand rice), 2.5 kilogrammes of cottonand 114 kilogrammes of strippedsugarcane.
Almost hundred per cent soils inPakistan are deficient in nitrogen,80 to 90 per cent are deficient inphosphorus and 30 per cent inpotassium. Soil fertility is continu-ously depleting due to mining of
essential plant nutrients from thesoils under intensive cultivation.
Kharif 2012 began with an inven-tory of 800,000 tones of urea. Totalurea (511,000 tones of importedsupplies, 2,068,000 tones of domes-tic production) was about 3,379,000tones against the off-take of2,689,000 tones, leaving an invento-ry of 684,000 tones for Rabi 2012-13
It is noted that off-take of allkinds of fertilisers has increasedmore than three times during theyear 2012-13 than in the year 1990-91 whereas the import of fertiliserhas remained the same during the
corresponding period.It has beenobserved that
price ofurea fer-tiliser hasincreaseda b o u tn i n et i m e s
from Rs95per bag of
fertiliser in1990-91 to
Rs1,720 during theyear 2012-13.
The province-wise figures for vari-ous types of fertilisers paint agloomy picture in Sindh where therealways remains a higher demand offertiliser every year than anywhereelse. It can be gathered that eitherno adequate supply is arranged orthere is deliberate shortage onaccount of non-availability or non-supply of fertiliser in time as well asin the required quantity.
The reason might be higherprices of fertilisers and also the apa-thetic and inept arrangement of thesupply of fertilizer.
In the light of these issues, the fol-lowing steps are suggested for alle-viating the problems confronted bythe farming community acrossPakistan, particularly in Sindh.
* Adequate and timely supply offertilisers may be arranged inSindh.
* More fertilizer plants may beestablished in Sindh.
* The demand of fertilisers maybe estimated before the sowing sea-son of each crop.
* The prices may be curtailed atthe minimum level so that farmerscan purchase and make good andproper use of fertilisers.
* Agricultural credit may be pro-vided by local branches of all banksso that farmers may be able to pur-chase fertilisers and other inputswell in time and free of interest.
* Transport facilities for takingthe fertilisers right up to the fieldsmay be arranged.
* Link roads may be planned.* Farmers associations/groups
may be set up for discussing theirproblems in seminars/debates/work-shops etc.
* For producing more fertilizer inthe country, a well-organised planmay be chalked out for exploringmore gas reserves so that the supplyof gas should not shrink further.
* Price of all qualities of fertilis-ers may be sustained at a more rea-sonable level keeping in view theeconomic status of the farmers.
* The availability of fertilizers atall tehsils may be arranged forwhich private and public fertilisersupply centres may be established.
* Training for better and properuse of fertilisers may be arrangedby all the various agriculturaldepartments.
* Water availability may beensured for the use of fertilisers,otherwise there will be great dan-ger to the productivity of all crops.
* All Field Assistants of respec-tive agricultural departments maybe asked to visit punctually thefields and meet the farmers forchecking the availability of fertiliz-
ers, the availability of water andalso to train and guide them in casethe farmers are not aware of the useof fertilisers or they are facing otherproblems relating to their crops,lands and farms.
* Government fertiliser depart-ment and centres along with thePlanning Commission, provincialagricultural departments, researchinstitutes and PARC should arrangedistrict-wise seminars of farmersquarterly or half-yearly so that theirproblems can be solved before eachcropping season.
* Cooperative stores may beopened at village level so that farm-ers can get agricultural pesticidesand fertilisers at their doorsteps.
* All the credit-giving agenciesmay be severely penalised if theyare found negligent in providingproduction loans to the needy farm-ing community well in time.
* All bank branches may beallowed to provide short-term loansfor the purchase of fertilisers, pesti-cides and seeds etc. to the smallfarmers free of interest if they payback the amount of loan well afterthree months of the sowing seasonof the crops.
* More attention should be paidtowards the supply of good quantityand quality of seeds, pesticides andfertilisers to the farmers for whichsmall farmer groups may be formedby all the co-related agriculturalagencies/departments. ■
From idle to ideal
LBy DR. ALI AKBAR DHAKAN
Mineral fertilisers help feed growing populations at lower costs in developing counties. With a bit of focus and prioritisation, Pakistan can also increase its per-acre yield to meet its requirements.
Continued from Page 12
optimum extent. Abject poverty and resource-lessness of farmers in Sindh have togethercaused the most adverse impact on small-scalefarming. The more impoverished areas in theprovince suffer most intensely.
The tubewells, which conventionally run onelectricity and diesel, are prohibitively expen-sive for the ordinary farmers. Local NGOs suchas Baanhn Beli and Tharpdeep RuralDevelopment Programme (TRDP) have begunfacilitating the solar-powered tubewells to cuton the operational costs of the water supplyhardware.
This sector has enormous potential toincrease in scale of production and utilisation.The micro-finance banks can step in to deviseloan schemes for this component of communityinfrastructure to expand in accordance with thedemands in Sindh.
A parallel effort in skill development is alsoneeded to provide operation, maintenance andrepair support to the solar infrastructure.
Once the agricultural sector would absorbthis vital innovation, the solar market will alsoexpand to other options of consumption such aseducational, healthcare and commercial facili-ties in the rural hinterland of Sindh.
Other provinces can also benefit by takingappropriate initiatives. The areas which have
been marked for low productivity due to powersoil conditions, limited precipitation rates andinability to access irrigation waters are usuallyfound rich in sunlight resources.
The districts of Tharparker and central loca-tions of Balochistan and southern Punjab are afew relevant examples.
Promotion of dairy farming has been found auseful option. These locations can become solarenergy generating nodes whereby large-scaleinvestment in solar energy generation canbecome a worthwhile enterprise with a focus onpoverty alleviation.
An official of AEDB, who spoke on conditionof anonymity, revealed that there was infinitepotential to transform the so-called rural waste-lands into most productive locations if solarenergy option is seriously pursued.
A German firm has already agreed toconsider the production of solar panelswhich can lead to large-scale investment inthis sector. While the government would dowell to allocate threshold subsidies for thissector, it is also important to have a
reduced tariff rate for common agricultur-al consumers in these locations.
The University of Agriculture in Faisalabadhas agreed to provide the land in exchange ofobtaining a portion in the company’s local fran-chise. Local manufacturing will certainly boostthe local economy in the region and beyond.
Such policy and project ventures shall haveseveral positive outcomes. One, the rising tideof migrations to large and medium cities will begradually stemmed. These migrations are mak-ing urban management most difficult, and con-tributing to unresolved and escalating commu-nal conflicts.
Two, the under-utilised locations of leastdeveloped districts will be able to revive andprosper. Three, the untapped potential of solarenergy will help extend agricultural enterprisesto locations which are currently far away frommainstream development.
And, four, the country will be able to adddiversity to the options of its energy mix solu-tions which are currently captivated by a fewconventional typologies. ■
The energy crunch
FERTILISER and agriculture mean the same thing for the local farmer. One without the other means nothing.
AIRY is one national sec-tor that satisfies no one.The farmers complain thatthe market players arefleecing them with lowprices. The industry
laments that Pakistan has one ofthe highest prices, which not onlymakes it costliest around the globebut also eat into its profits anddeter export possibilities. Theresearchers think that the entiresector is on the decline because ofgenetic mess-up. The planners feelproblems have become so myriadthat successive governments haveno longer been interested to spareas much money as is required todeal with them. The consumers …well, forget him.
On paper, the country producesanything between 35 and 42 billionlitres of milk, but still sells it atwhat happens to be one of the high-est price in the world and importssubstantial milk products. Out ofthe overall production, only four tofive per cent goes for processingand the rest goes for either opensale, which is totally unregulated,or for domestic consumption.
The world resolved the issue ofgenetic purity by artificial insemi-nation (AI). In Pakistan, it is yet tomake a mark as AI services onlycover 15 per cent of the population,leaving the rest in a state of genet-ic confusion and low productivity.Even the five per cent so-called bet-ter breed animals do not yield morethan 2,000 litres of milk, against9,000 litres in the US and 12,000litres in Israel. This also makesPakistani milk expensive for theindustry.
To add to the cost, the supplychain is full of losses because of tworeasons: missing cold chain andpower crisis in the country. Besides,
the collapse of health services isalmost complete, with official cov-erage of sector hardly covering twoto three per cent livestock.
Driven by its own profit and con-venience motives, the industryfound a solution to high milk pricesin skimmed milk powder (SMP)and in the process hurt milk pro-duction even more.
According to Pakistan DairyAssociation sources, unofficiallyadmitted by the industry as well,the big players are now using
around 30 per cent SMP to manu-facture milk and have stopped pur-chasing from local farmers. At theheart of this decision lies the tea-whitener market, which containscooking oil, sugar and SMP – neces-sitating the import of skimmedmilk powder, which is now findingits way into the milk industry. Theindustry finds it easier to importinstead of expensive collection ofmilk from far and wide.
The problem is particularlysevere in Punjab because it pro-
duces 75 per cent of national sup-plies, followed by 14 per cent bySindh, 10 per cent by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and one per cent byBalochistan. It has hit the livestockfarming hard in the last few yearsas investment has dried down. Itonly hastened the process startedby power crisis. Even India hasslapped a duty of 65 per cent onSMP import, but Pakistan is per-sisting at 25 per cent to facilitatethe industry at the cost of the farm-ers.
The sector has two big markets –milk production and meat; leather isa small by-product. At the moment,both are almost unregulatedbecause of weak laws on the qualityof milk and meat. Even India hasminimum pasteurisation standards,but Pakistan is still without them.
In order to save the sector,Pakistan should develop diaryframework, how it wants to see thesector evolving, what are objectivesand targets and how to achievethem. Currently, some foreignfunded programmes are being runby some non-governmental organi-sations and even by some govern-ment departments, but they remainsketchy at best. They all need to bemade part of the official strategyfor better results.
The official strategy can havefour elements that experts believeare must for better evolution of thelivestock sector, which provideslaunching pad to the diary sector.The livestock productivity, asexperts put it, is a matter of fourfactors – breeding, nutrition, healthand husbandry management.Breeding and health services are indilapidated state. The rest of thetwo are not in a better positioneither.
On the nutrition front, some 71per cent of livestock farmers areeither landless (38 per cent) or ownless than five acres (33 per cent) of
land. Practically speaking, it meansthat over 70 per cent of animals aremal-nourished.
The less one say about husbandrymanagement, the better it wouldbe. The farmers neither have train-ing, nor awareness nor extensionservice nor technology. One simplefact reveals the official attitudetowards management. Expertsbelieve, as practised the world over,that the animals must have accessto water 24 hours and be fed thricea day. With this one step, the milkyield, they say, could go up by onelitter. In Pakistan’s rural areas, theopposite is true: most of the animalshave access to feed on 24/7 basis,but is taken to drinking water oncea day. With these kinds of extensionservices, no wonder productivityresults are as bad as they are.
Once Pakistan takes care of theparent sector, which is livestock, itcan easily move to regulate anddevelop milk and meat sectors. Tillthen, the sector and the nationaleconomy would continue to sufferwith every stakeholder of the sec-tor blaming the others for their mis-eries and all of them pointing fin-ger at the government for theirwoes. ■
No winners in the equation
ET’S have the figures first.According to the last year’s statis-tics, Pakistan has 36.90 millioncattle, 32.70 million buffalos, 63.10million goats, 28.4 million sheepand around a million camels.
These numbers make Pakistan the fourthlargest milk producer in the world, ownerof the second largest herd of buffaloes,third largest of goats, ninth largest of cattleand ninth biggest of sheep.
Both cattle and buffalo stocks are grow-ing at the rate of 3.65 per cent and 3.15 percent respectively. Goats are increasing at2.60 per cent and sheep at 1.07 per cent.Put together, they all add Rs700 billionevery year to the sector.
With this statistical reality in mind, onecan hardly believe that Pakistan is a statethat cannot feed itself. But market realitiescreate that suspicion. In the last twodecades, beef prices have risen by 834 percent – from Rs32 per kg in 1993 to Rs267 atpresent.
These are average provincial prices,mind you; markets in cities have alreadycrossed the Rs300 per kg limit. Similarly,mutton prices have risen from Rs70 per kgto Rs513, or by 732 per cent. Milk priceshave experienced the same trend: from Rs3per littler to current Rs60, and theprocessed one touching a horrendousRs100 per litre.
Had Pakistan been having that kind ofhigh milk production – even 35bn litres,which is a more conservative estimate, asthe Economic Survey of Pakistan has putthe figure at 47bn – the country, with a pop-ulation of 180 million, must have a per capi-ta availability of little less than 200 litresper person. That hardly seems to be thecase given the ever-increasing milk prices.
The defenders of these statistics believethat it is the anatomy of holding that cre-ates that perception.
In Punjab, 71 per cent of livestock farm-ers are either landless (38 per cent) or ownless than five acres (33 per cent) of land.They hurt the sector in two ways: they arenot part of the markets and their livestockis poorly kept and underperforms grossly.Practically, it means that over 70 per centof animals are either mal- or under-nour-ished. This leaves only 30 per cent stockthat should actually be taken as part of themarket, with 70 per cent actually being adrag.
Apart from this pattern of holdings,there are a number of issues that bedevilthe sector. They include farmers’ trainingand knowledge, poor farm access and evenpoorer access to credit. Besides, low genet-ic potential, which is a result of decades ofgenetic mixing, has now come to haunt thesector. Feeding and healthcare issues fur-ther compound the scenario. The less onetalks about the extension services, the bet-ter it would be.
The critics take the debate to the nextlevel. If all these issues are part of officialrecord and memory, who is supposed tosolve them? Here, their argument is deeplypersuasive. The need to come up with astrategy to first save and then let the sectorperform is obvious.
First, what needs to be done to save thesector? There has to be genetic purity.
Fortunately, the country is proud host oftwo precious breeds – Neeli Ravi (buffalo)and Sahiwal (cow) – that can be comparedwith any around the world. In fact, coun-tries like Australia and Brazil, which nowlead the world in the sector, purchasedthese breeds from Pakistan, improved
them and are now leading the world.Currently, both these breeds hardly formtwo to three per cent of the entire popula-tion. A national effort is needed to slowlyincrease their population.
If Pakistan categorises its animal popula-tion into three classes – better, medium
and bad– itw o u l dr o u g h l yhave 22 mil-lion animals ineach category. If it isable to get rid of 22 million animals of badstock and export meat, it would not onlyget billions of dollars in foreign exchange,but also spare precious fodder for the restof the animals. Each of these 22 millionweighs around 200kg of meat. So, it wouldnot only bring the money in, but also spare22 million maund of fodder and 66 millionlitres of water on a daily basis for the bet-ter breeds.
With the rest of the animals, a massivenational-level breeding and genetic main-tenance plan can be launched. In fact,Punjab once conceived an elaborate planto genetically tag its stock and theUniversity of Veterinary and AnimalSciences (UVAS) developed and executedsuch a system on its own farms; keeping acomplete record – pedigree and geneticanalysis – of each animal and sifting elitebreed from the rest.
Once this side is taken care of, the gov-ernment must improve the marketing sideof livestock, where smallholders have astrong price incentive. It should certainlynot be at the cost of other stakeholders ofthe value chain, but making livestock farm-ers part of profit, which, unfortunately,they presently are not. Conversely, theentire chain makes profits at the cost of thefarmers.
The government need to create anenabling environment where both largeand small-scale operation can exist andbring social and fiscal benefits to the coun-try. It can be done with simply re-prioritis-ing the sector and setting relevant devel-opment targets. — Ahmad Fraz Khan ■
The livestock quandary
D
L
By FRAZ KHAN
If certain steps are not taken in a hurry, stakeholders in the dairy sector would continue to blame each other fortheir miseries and all of them together would be pointing an accusing finger at the government.
Regardless of what cold numbers suggest, the fact is that only 30 per cent of the overallstock actually represent the market, while the 70 per cent is actually a drag.
FREESTYLE grazing leads to less-then-ideal milk yield per animal in the country.
PART of the national herd or just another drag?
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 2014 19
HE textile sector is cele-brating the GeneralizedScheme of Preferences(GSP) Plus status by theEuropean Union as itwould improve access to
the EU market through duty freeexports of GSP-eligible products.The industry thinks it can reap bil-lions of additional dollars throughexports to the EU and multiply itsprofits. The benefit and profit fig-ures, however, vary; ranging from$2 to $4 billion.
One cannot fault the industry forthe celebrations because it hasinfrastructure, finance, expertiseand manpower to achieve,and even surpass,those figures.However, theweak link inthese estima-tions is theprovision ofraw material –cotton. Thefarmer neitherhas the exper-tise, nor thefinances, nor thetraining, nor the inputsto match the industrial expectation.Unless the industry wants to go theBangladesh way – importing cottonto prepare textile exports – it has tofind ways for backward integrationwith the field and farmers and takethe farming along to achieve betterresults.
The industry would have to workhard because, as things standtoday, the crop is on a slipperyslope, loosing both in acreage andproduction for the last many years.
Last time Pakistan wasable to achieve the tar-
get was in 2009. In thelast few years, Punjab
alone has lost around one mil-lion acre of cotton to other com-
petitive crops like maize and sugar-cane. Due to this consistent loss,the production is stuck at around12 million bales and a little extrawhen Mother Nature helps, whichmostly is not the case.
As calculated by the industry, itrequires around 16 million bales tomeet the current export orders. Butif they increase, as they shouldbecause of the GSP-Plus status, therequirement may go up by anothertwo to four million bales. Given the
recent crop experience, Pakistancan hardly meet that kind of target.If the industry ends up importingeight million bales every year, itwould only end up hiking interna-tional prices grossly, but sufferhugely on its profits and even inmeeting its orders. That is why theindustry is better advised to con-centrate on the crop and take thefarmer along.
The industry has a huge role toplay, which should go beyondensuring better prices of produce.It needs to push the government fora cotton policy, because it has themuscles to do so. One can suggest anumber of measures to the industryand the government for that kind of
policy, but one is also sure that theindustry is better placed to identifyweak areas of the crop because it isa direct stakeholder and stakeshave increased with GSP Plus.
As things stand today, the farm-ers say their interest in crop isdeclining because of two factors:uncertainty about the yield anddeclining profits, with both factorsfeeding on each other. The first fac-
tor is a direct result of the poorseed sector, and the second of theindustrial preference to hog profits.
Last year, four governmentagencies – AgricultureBiotechnology Research Institute(ABRI), the National Institute forBiotechnology & GeneticEngineering (NIBGE), NationalInstitute for Genomics &Advanced Biotechnology (NIGAB)and the Centre of Excellence inMolecular Biology (CEMB) – docu-mented the first factor when theyfiled a study on seed sector. Intheir joint testing report of 71 Btvarieties, being sold and sown inPakistan, they found that none ofthem had the required toxin level– enough to kill spotted bollwormsand prevent them from developingimmunity against this particularpoison.
Australian researcher NeilForrester also said in his reportthat Pakistan was losing aroundtwo to three million bales everyyear because of seed crisis. Climatechange is another negative factor inthe equation.
The industry on its part onlyensures that it remains the onlybuyer of cotton in the marketthrough a number of policy mea-sures pressed on the governmentbecause of the industrial muscle. Itdiscourages local exporters anddoes not facilitate foreignimporters. And the only buyer inthe market is totally un-regulatedin the name of free market. Thus,industry and government joinhands to discourage the farmers.
Fortunately, the governmenttook a huge step to bring some san-ity in the seed sector when theTechnical Assessment Committee
approved 32 Bacillus thuringiensis(Bt) varieties. The step, however, isnot without controversy because allthese varieties, like nine approvedthree years ago, grossly differ ongene expression.
The critics maintain all thesevarieties still differ in the Bt (toxinlevel) expression, which is neces-sary to kill the pests. They thinkthat varying toxin level was pre-cisely what hurt the cotton crop inthe last few years. The new vari-eties would now not only carry for-ward that confusion but have offi-cial seal on them.
The defenders of these varietiesand the process think that the toxinlevel in the seed differ not becauseof the (Bt) gene expression, but onthe host varieties. The level alsodepends upon a variety of vari-ables, like the timing of the sample,weather impact and regional fac-tor. Thus, the differing expressionlevel should not be a decisive factorfor the approval and rejection of aparticular variety because of somany variables involved in theprocess.
Simultaneously, the governmentalso needs to start a process of itsown to avoid the horrible experi-ence of the last three years. Theproblem with current seed policy isthat it leaves huge lacunae that canbe easily exploited to sell prema-ture seed.
Since all breeders are also direct-ly dealing with farmers in the nameof extension services, they can alsoeasily mislead the farmers for prof-it motives. Regular media reports ofgovernment officials pimping pri-vate business indicate that alliance,which is expanding with the reced-ing writ of the government. ■
AST year, a World Bank report –Pakistan Policy Note 6 – claimed thatagriculture growth had stagnatedbecause of the absence of research.Substantiating its claim with numbers,the report said that the agriculture sec-
tor grew only by 3.3 per cent against GDPgrowth of 4.9 per cent in the last decade. Butthe fact is that the slide has been historical andconsistent.
Technical capacity constraints are com-pounded by complex institutional environmentwhere there were 111 agencies involved in2007, employing more than 3,600 researchersand spending around Rs2.4 billion annually onit. Out of those 111 agencies, 37 were federal,44 provincial, 17 higher education institutionsand 13 private. They were led by the PakistanAgriculture Research Council (PARC).
The world wants Pakistan to spare moremoney for agriculture research for three rea-sons. The country has a massive agriculturalbase, which, of late, has assumed added signif-icance because of the poor performance ofother sectors. It is now virtually left as a mono-sector economy. Secondly, investment in agri-
culture research has proven and massive poten-tial. Thirdly, what makes investment on agri-culture research ideal is the social range ofbenefits that it brings. A small breakthrough inany seed variety can benefit the entire popula-tion.
However, Pakistan has chosen to ignore thesector thus far. What makes investment inresearch even urgent is the fact that challengesare now changing in nature, magnitude andcomplexity. Only researchers can come to therescue because only they can study the natureand the extent of these challenges.
PARC has recently come out with Rs20 bil-lion business plan for the next five years, whichcontains some good research and business pro-posals. One hopes it gets required funding andpolitical and administrative support to get theplan through. However, at the risk of falling ondeaf ears, one can still suggest that theresearch must be need-based and it must beintegrated with overall production.
The world has problem with certain cottonpests and it found the solution in BT genes,which it discovered in German soil and madepart of the global technology. Pakistan hadproblems with the cotton leave curl virus(CLCV) and has lost almost 50 million bales to
it in the last few years. But no pest-specificresearch has been carried out.
Instead, beg, borrowed and stolen technologywas inducted in the name of Bt genes. Whatthis technology has done is to create more prob-lems. It dealt with a particular pest, butchanged the character of other pests, whichfarmers are now struggling to deal with. Hadthings been done with proper research, theproblems could have at least been lessened ifnot avoided altogether.
The entire research must be integrated one.Given the sheer spread of institutions involvedin the business makes it next to impossible tocompartmentalise the effort. They all must bebrought under one umbrella to avoid duplica-tion, even overlapping, in the field.
The PARC has a huge role to play in thisregard. To name a few of its possible assign-ments, one can maintain it must coordinateresearch and development among its federat-ing units, serve as a national clearing house ofprojects to avoid duplication and wastage ofresources, link Pakistan to internationalresearch institutions, setting national policyand outreach agenda, national and internation-al resource mobilisation and, most importantly,provincial harmony. ■
The textile sector islooking forward tosome additional profitswithout looking backward to ensuresupply of cotton from the fields
Money alone is not the issueBy FRAZ KHAN
L
WITH the momentum of GSP Plus behind it, the national textile industry apparently has better days ahead. But without raw material, how far can it go?
The missing link
TBy AHMAD FRAZ
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 201420
Sarsabz Fertilizers
ECONOMY of each state relieson three segments: agriculture,industry and trade. These threeare integrated with one anotheras the advancement or decline ofone area affects the other two.The land of Pakistan was blessedwith lot of nutrients and plenty ofcanal i r r igat ion water .Unfortunately current nutrient sta-tus of our land is at a larmingstage and water scarcity is evenrestricting to maintain the existingproductivity of the sector. For fur-ther growth in agriculture, nutrientmanagement and judicious use ofirrigation water is the need of thetime.
Agriculture is the primary sectorthat provides essential carbohy-drates, proteins, starch, vitaminsand vital minerals. This is onlyposs ib le when requi red p lantnutrients are available in the soil.Pakistan's soils are 100% defi-cient in organic matter, a sourcefor nitrogen for protein synthesis,and 90% soils are deficient inPhosphorus, essentially requiredfor our bone development andreproduct ive processes.Potassium, Calcium, Zinc andBoron contents of soil are alsoconsiderably low. This situationhas raised many questions linkingto fu ture food secur i ty o fPakistan.
Sarsabz Fer t i l i zer , be ing amajor stockholder of agricultureindustry, is directly serving farmercommunity of Pakistan, especiallysmall farmers which are 78% ofthe farming community and arecultivating about 48% of the culti-vated land of Pakistan. Sarsabz
Fertilizers professional technicalteam is educating different newways and techniques to get moreand healthier produce from theirfarms. Balanced fertilizer use isone of the major tasks becausethrough balance fert i l izer usePakistan's farmer can add 30-50% more in their average yields.
Sarsabz Nitrophos and CalciumAmmonium Ni t ra te are spe-cial ised fert i l isers exclusivelyhelpful for Pakistan's alkal inesoils. Nitrophos application pro-vides micro acidic environment inthe soil rhizosphere and subse-quently plants absorb more foodfrom the soil to keep plant meta-bolic functions intact. CalciumAmmonium Ni t rate is anotherspecialised fertiliser which pro-vides instant and prolonged foodfor healthier plant growth andquality fruit formation.
Agriculture is central to eco-nomic growth and development inPakistan. Being the dominant
sector it contributes 21.4 per centto GDP, employs 45 per cent ofthe country's labour force andcontributes to the growth of othersectors o f the economy. Thehealthy expansion in agriculturestimulates domestic demand forindustrial goods and other ser-vices and supplying raw materialto agro-based industry, notablycotton in textile industry which isthe largest sub-sector of manu-facturing sector. The governmentunder the paradigm of newgrowth strategy envisioned toenhance growth in agriculturesector by facilitating agricultureproductivity sustainable environ-ment, increasing competitivenessin agriculture marketing and tradeby providing friendly climate formore investment in the sector.However, draft tenth five yearsplan also envisages improvingthe productivity, profitability com-petitiveness and environmentalsustainability of agriculture.
During 2012-13, the agriculturesector exhibited a growth of 3.3per cent on the back of positivegrowth in agriculture related sub-sectors. Crops grew at 3.2 percent , L ivestock 3.7 per cent ,Forestry 0.1 per cent and Fishing0.7 per cent. The agriculture sub-sector component which includesimportant crops, and other cropsgrew by 2.3 per cent and 6.7 percent respectively, except cotton
ginning that decl ined2.9 per cent. Importantcrops accounted for25.2 per cent of agricul-tural value added andhas exper ienced agrowth of 2.3 per centin fiscal year 2012-13against growth of 7.4per cent in 2011-12.The lower growth inimpor tant crops isattributed to decline inproduction of rice andcotton by 10 per centand 4.2 per centrespectively. The per-formance of agriculturesector is dependentupon weather condi -tion, timely availabilityof inputs (fertiliser and
water). During 2012-13 weathercondit ions and water situationhas an impact on these Kharifc rops that paved the way fordecrease in production of r iceand cotton crops.
Other crops that contributed12.3 per cent value addition inagriculture witnessed a positivegrowth of 6.7 per cent in 2012-13against negative growth of 7.7per cent during the same periodlast year . The cot ton g inn ingunder new base 2005-06 hasbeen included in agriculture valueaddi t ion showed a negat ivegrowth of 2.9 per cent in 2012-13against the posit ive growth of13.8 per cent during the sameperiod last year.
The livestock sector which hasa 55.4 per cent share in the agri-culture grew by 3.7 per cent in2012-13. The F ishr ies sectorgrew by 0.7 per cent as againstlast year's positive growth of 3.8per cent. Forestry sector posted a
nominal growth of 0.1 per centthis year compared to positivegrowth of 1.7 per cent last year.
Pakistan has two crop seasons,Kharif being the first sowing sea-son starting from April-June and
harvested dur ing October-December. Rice, sugarcane, cot-ton, maize, moong, mash, bajraand jowar are Kharif crops. Rabi,the second sowing season,begins October-December and isharvested in April-May. Wheat,gram, lentil (masoor), tobacco,rapeseed, barley and mustard areRabi crops.
The crops ' per formance isdependent upon timely availabili-ty o f i r r igat ion water . Dur ing2012-13, the availability of wateras an essential input for Kharif2012 was 14 per cent less thanthe normal supplies, but to com-pare with Kharif 2011, it was 4.4per cent less. The water availabil-ity during Rabi season 2012-13was estimated 31.9 MAF, whichwas 12.4 per cent less than thenormal availability, but 8.5 percent higher than last year's Rabicrop. Important crops, such aswheat, rice, maize, cotton andsugarcane account for 25.2 percent of the value added in overallagriculture and 5.4 per cent toGDP. The other crops account for12.3 per cent of the value addedin overall agriculture. Livestockcontributes 55.4 per cent to agri-cultural value added much morethan the combined contribution ofimportant and other crops (37.6per cent).
According to the estimates ofAgricultural Census 2010, therewere 8.26 mil l ion farms in thecountry. These farms were oper-at ing an area of 52.91 mil l ionacres. The distribution of farmarea among smal l and largefarms was highly skewed. Farms
with less than five acres of landconstituted 64 per cent (5.35 mil-lion) of the total private farms, butthey operated only 19 per cent(10.18 million acres) of the totalfarm area. Whereas, the farms
that were of 25 acres and abovein size, comprised only four percent (0.30 mil l ion) of the totalfarms, but they commanded 35per cent (18.12 million acres) ofthe total farm area. The averagesize of farm in the country was6.4 acres whereas the cultivatedarea per farm was 5.2 acres.
Farm InputsFertiliser: Fertiliser is the most
important and expensive input.Contribution of balanced fertilisa-tion towards increased yield isfrom 30-50 per cent in differentcrop production regions of thecountry. One kg of fertiliser nutri-ent produces about 8kg of cere-als (wheat, maize and rice), 2.5kgof cotton and 114kg of strippedsugarcane.
Almost hundred per cent soilsin Pak is tan are def ic ient inNitrogen, 80 to 90 per cent aredeficient in Phosphorus and 30per cent in Potass ium.Widespread def ic iency ofmicronutrients is also appearingin different areas. Soil fertility iscont inuously deplet ing due tomining of essential plant nutrientsfrom the soils under intensive cul-tivation.
Kharif 2012 started with inven-tory of 800,000 tonnes of urea.Total availability of urea (includ-ing 511,000 tonnes of importedsuppl ies, 2,068,000 tonnes ofdomestic production) was about3379 thousand tonnes againstthe off-take of 2,689,000 tonnes,leav ing inventory o f 684,000tonnes for Rabi 2012-13.Availability of DAP was 773,000tonnes compr is ing 177,000
tonnes of inventory , 243,000tonnes of imported supplies and353,000 tonnes of local produc-tion.
DAP of f - take was 544,000tonnes leaving an inventory of227,000 tonnes. The left-over ofth is season was to meet therequirements of the Rabi 2012-13. Rabi 2012-13 started withinventory of 684,000 tonnes ofurea. Total availabil i ty of urea( inc lud ing 288,000 tonnes ofimpor ted suppl ies, 2 ,114,000tonnes of domestic production)was about 3 ,086,000 tonnesagainst the off-take of 2,855,000tonnes, leav ing inventory o f220,000 tonnes of Kharif 2013.Availability of DAP was 903,000tonnes compr is ing 227,000tonnes of inventory , 327,000tonnes of imported supplies and349,000 tonnes of local produc-tion. DAP off-take was 700,000tonnes leaving an inventory of197,000 tonnes. The left-over ofthis season will be trans-ferred to next season thatwill help meet the require-ments of the comingKharif 2013. Kharif 2013began wi th 220,000tonnes of opening inven-tory . Wi th 2 ,600,000tonnes of domestic pro-duct ion and 190,000tonnes of imported sup-plies, total available ureawould be about 3,010,000tonnes. The est imatedof f - take dur ing Khar i f2013 is expected to bearound 2,800,000 tonnes,leaving behind an inven-tory of 210,000 tonnes forthe next Rabi season.
The domestic produc-tion of urea is estimatedon the assumption thaturea plants at SNGPL network willoperate on 40 per cent of theircapacity. As regards DAP, totalavai labi l i ty is est imated to be562,000 tonnes for the upcomingKharif 2013, which includes open-ing inventory of 197,000 tonnesand domest ic product ion of365,000 tonnes. The expected off-take is 600,000 tonnes. Hence, adeficit of 38,000 tonnes of DAPwill be covered through importedsupplies by private sector.
Improved Seed: Quality seedplays a pivotal role in boostingagricultural production both inmarket-oriented and subsistencefarming systems. Seed has theunique position among variousagricultural inputs because the
effectiveness of all other inputsmainly depends on the potentialof the seeds. Seed is a high-tech-nology product and is an innova-t ion most readi ly adapted.Improving access to good qualityof seed is a critical requirementfor sustainable agricultural growthand food security. Effective useof improved/certif ied seed canresult in higher agricultural pro-duction and increases that have apositive impact on rural develop-ment. Hence, availability of quali-ty seed of improved varieties isessential to achieving the produc-tion targets. During July-March,2012-13 about 319,000 tonnes ofimproved seeds of var iousKharif/Rabi crops were procured.The procurement of seeds forvar ious Khar i f c rops (cot ton,paddy, maize, mungbean, etc) isunder progress. The Federa lSeed Cer t i f icat ion andRegis t ra t ion Depar tment(FSC&RD) is engaged in provid-ing seed certif ication to publicand private sector companies. Itprovides seed quality control ser-vices through its 28 seed testinglaboratories and monitor seedquality in the market as well. Theact ivi t ies/achievements of thedepartment during July-March,
2012-13 is briefly given below:During the year July-March,
2012-13, only three new seedcompanies were registered, rais-ing the total number of registeredseed companies in the country to766, including these private seedcompanies. Four are public-sec-tor and five multinationals.Netincome during July-March, 2012-13, 496,000 acres of dif ferentcrops were inspected for certifica-tion purposes.
A total quantity of 319,000 MTseeds of various crops were sam-pled and tested for purity, germi-nation and health purposes.
Pre and post control trials of allpre-basic, basic seed lots and 20per cent of certified seed lots
were carried out in the fields todetermine the quality of seedsdistributed by various seed agen-cies.
Under the provision of Seed ActEnforcement, 17 cases were filedin different Courts of Law againstseed dealers found selling sub-standard seeds.
Impor ted seeds of var iouscrops/hybr ids to the tune of22,500 MT with a total value ofRs5339.1 mi l l ion were testedunder Seed (Truth-in-Labelling)Rules, 1991, during the year atthe port of entry i.e. Lahore andKarachi.
Source: National Fertilizer Development Center *: Outlook
Seed Availability* (Metric Tonnes)
Crop Local Imported Total
Wheat 257812 0 257812
Cotton 679.7 0 679.7
Paddy 31765.8 51 31816.8
Maize 5210.9 4041.9 9252.8
Pulses 757.8 0 757.8
Oilseeds 217.3 1268.1 1485.4
Fodders 12.4 10064 10076.3
Vegetables 230.2 2541.4 2771.6
Potato 34.5 4541.7 4576.2
Total 296720.6 22508 319228.5
Source: Federal Seed Certification & Registration Department * : Provisional
(July-March 2012-13)
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 2014 21
and propagating materials of vari-ous crops/vegetables and fruitswere tested at the Central SeedTesting Laboratory, Islamabad, fordetection of fungal and viral dis-eases using latest diagnosis tech-niques and protocols.
Mechanisation: Mechanisationof agriculture plays an importantrole in increasing agricultural pro-duction. Mechanisation of agricul-ture is crucial to achieving self-sufficiency and surpluses throughincreasing productivity and reduc-ing pre and post-harvest losses.The government is making al lefforts to modernise its agricultureand its allied fields more efficientlyand productively. The use of effi-cient and quality farm machineryand equipment play an importantrole in the sowing and harvestingof agriculture crops. During July-March 2012-13 a total number of36,121 tractors were produced inthe country, showing an increaseof 34.6 per cent compared to26,840 tractors produced duringthe same period last year.
Irrigation: Water is an impor-tant input to achieve the agricul-ture growth and is considered to
be the lifeline of agriculture activi-ties. Pakistan has a good irrigationcanal network, but temperaturesand rainfalls during sowing andharvesting season has its ownunique importance. During themonsoon season (July-September), the normal averagerainfall was 140.9mm, while theactual rainfall received in 2012was 181.4mm, indicat ing anincrease of 28.7 per cent. Duringwinter (January-March), normalaverage rainfall was 74.3mm andthe actual rainfall received in 2013was 109.5mm, indicat ing anincrease of 47.4 per cent underthe normal rainfall average. Thecanal head withdrawals in Kharif(April-September) 2012 decreasedby four per cent and stood at 57.7million acre feet (MAF) comparedto 60.4MAF during the same peri-od last year. During the secondplanting season, Rabi (October-March) 2012-13, the canal headwithdrawals increased by eight percent and stood at 31.9MAF, com-pared to 29.4MAF dur ing thesame period of last year.
During 2012-13, in the light ofNew Growth Strategy and guiding
principles, anintegrated waterresource man-a g e m e n tapproach withequity, efficiency,participatory deci-sion-making, sus-tainabi l i ty anda c c o u n t a b i l i t yhave been adopt-ed to address thewater sector 'sissues. The strat-egy was aimed ataccording priorityto investments inthe water sectorto achieve addi-tional water stor-ages and reorga-nization for effec-tive and respon-
sive inst i tut ional reforms.Considering water demand for irri-gation, domestic and industrial,water availability is continuouslydiminishing. The challenge is toformulate and effective implemen-
tation of a comprehensive set ofmeasures for the development andefficient management of waterresources. The main water sector'spublic and private investmentsareas are: augmentation of surfacewater resources by construction ofwater storage small/medium dams;conservation measures (lining ofirrigation channels, modernising/rehabilitating of irrigation system,lining of watercourses; and effi-ciency enhancement through reha-bilitation and better operation ofexisting system; and protection ofinfrastructure from onslaught offloods and water-logging and salin-ity. It is expected that Rs35 billionwould be utilised on the water-sec-tor programmes.
Agricultural Credit: The gov-ernment of Pakistan is cognizantof the vitality of agriculture creditand is making all efforts for thepromotion/development of agricul-ture f inance in the country.Resultantly, the flow of credit toagr icul ture sector is showing
improvement and all steps havebeen taken to ensure credit avail-ability to the farming community ataffordable rates. A well-estab-lished network of lending institu-t ions is operat ive to meet the
financial requirements of farmers,especial ly in the rural areas.Currently 27 commercial, Islamicand microf inance banks witharound 3,900 agriculture designat-ed branches are facilitating farm-ers by extending agriculture creditthroughout the country. Theseinclude 19 commercial banks, twospecialised banks, one Islamicbank and five microfinance banks.These banks provide productionand development loans to thefarming community for agriculturalactivities, including crops produc-tion, livestock, poultry, fisheries,orchards, forestry, nurseries, api-culture, sericulture, etc.
The State Bank of Pakistan,keeping in view the increasingdemand of credit, has provisional-ly set an indicative agriculturecredi t d isbursement target ofRs315 billion during 2012-13 asagainst Rs285 billion fixed lastyear. Out of these, Rs220.2 billionis allocated to commercial banks,Rs72 bi l l ion to Zarai Taraqiati
Bank Limited (ZTBL), Rs13.8 bil-l ion to microf inance banks(MFBs), and Rs9 billion to PunjabProvincial Cooperat ive BankLimited (PPCBL). During July-March, 2012-13, banks' disburse-ment to the agriculture sectorsurged by 17 per cent year-on-year basis i.e. Rs231 billion or 73per cent of the target, Rs315 bil-lion compared with disbursementof Rs197.4 billion last year.
Livestock: The livestock sectoroccupies a unique position in theNational Agenda of economicdevelopment .The sector providesnet source of foreign earnings.Historically, livestock has beendominated by small holders tomeet their needs of milk, foodsecurity and cash income on dailybasis. Moreover, livestock is con-sidered a source of employmentgeneration at rural level, helping toreduce income variability. It is cen-tral to the livelihood of the ruralpoor in the country and can play animportant role in poverty alleviationand keep in uplifting the socio-eco-nomic condition of our rural mass-es. Livestock contributed approxi-mately 55.4 per cent to the agricul-tural value added and 11.9 per centto national GDP during 2012-13,against 55.3 per cent and 11.9 percent during the same period last
year. Gross value addition of thelivestock sector at constant costfactor has increased from Rs735billion (2011-12) to Rs756 billion(2012-13); showing an increase of2.9 per cent compared to previousyear. The milk productionincreased by 3.2 per cent, andmeat 4.5 per cent during 2012-13compared to corresponding periodlast year.
Poultry: The poultry sector isone of the most organised andvibrant segments of the agricultureindustry of Pakistan. This sectorgenerates employment(direct/indirect) and income forabout 1.5 million people. Its contri-bution in agriculture is 5.76 percent, livestock 10.4 per cent andin GDP at constant cost factor 1.2per cent. Poultry meat contributes26.8 per cent of the total meatproduction in the country. Poultrysector has shown a robust growthat 7-8 per cent annually whichreflects its inherent potential. Thepoultry value added at constantcost factor has increased fromRs113,465 million (2011-12) toRs121,726 mi l l ion (2012-13),showing an increase of 7.3 percent compared to previous year.
Fisheries: Fishery plays animportant role in Pakistan's econo-my and is considered to be a
Partners ...
Canal Head Withdrawals (Below Rim Station) Million Acre Feet (MAF)
Kharif Kharif % Change in Rabi Rabi % Change in
Provinces (Apr-Sep) (Apr-Sep) Kharif 2012 (Oct-Mar) (Oct-Mar) Rabi 2012-13 2011 2012 over 2011 2011-12 2012-13 Over 2011-12
Source: State Bank of PakistanP: Provisional (July -Mar)
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 201422
source of livelihood for the coastalinhabitants. Apart from marinefisheries, inland fisheries (basedin rivers, lakes, ponds, dams etc.)are also very important throughoutthe country. Fisheries' share in theGDP, though very little, adds sub-stantially to the national incomethrough export earnings. DuringJuly-March, 2012-13 a total of103,822 metric tonnes of fish andfishery products were exported,earning US$232.4 million againsta total of 90,087 metric tonnes offish and fishery products exportedlast year, earning US$222.6 mil-lion, showing an increase of 15.3per cent and 4.4 per cent respec-tively.
Arysta
HEADQUARTERED in Tokyo,Japan, ArystaLifeScience is amultinational corporation with aglobal presence in the CropHealth and Protection market. Weare well-known for our innovativeand entrepreneurial crop healthsolutions and more than three-quarters of our workforce operat-ing in over 125 countries is direct-ly involved in bringing new prod-ucts to the market.
ArystaLifeScience Pakistan isfocused on helping its customersnurture business expansionthrough the development, salesand marketing and distribution ofhigh-quality crop protection pesti-cides and plant nutrient solutionsfor today’s dynamic agro, healthand nutrition science marketplace.We specialise in marketing anddistribution of well-respected cropprotection brands and life scienceproducts in harmony with theneeds of our global partners.
For almost 14 years we areinvolved in providing quality fieldpromotion activities to farmers, notonly providing technical knowl-edge for our products, but alsoawareness on rapidly changingenvironment of agriculture.
Austrex and DairyCare
AUSTREX is global leader inlivestock export. It is providingcomplete services including cattleselection, dairy cattle exports,dairy cattle transportation and ser-vices to handle dairy cattle at farmfor existing and potential dairy andlivestock farmers.
In partnership with DairyCarePakistan, AUSTREX have theexpertise, experience and connec-tions to make it easily possible foryou to buy the best dairy herd thatis suitable to your farming needand budgets. AUSTREX shippinghas further strengthened with theinduction of state of the art cattlecarrier ‘Ganado Express’ in itsfleet of livestock carriers.
AUSTREX in partnership withDairyCare Pakistan is above andbeyond every other exporter, com-mitted to supplying high qualityAustralian dairy breeding cattle tovarious dairy farms in Pakistan.Team of AUSTREX and DairyCarePakistan experts focus on pre andpost-import support to dairy farmsin Pakistan. We go even beyondthis and come in partnership withour client and provide him supportand assistance he requires duringpre and post farm setup opera-tions.
Our complete cattle buying solu-tion in partnership with AUSTREXwill make the whole process con-venient and easy for you, we will
oversee the cattle buying proce-dure on your behalf from cattleselection to shipping and handling,and you will concentrate on yourfarm with peace of mind.
By the grace of Allah, our dedi-cated ship to Pakistan is sched-uled twice a year to bring highquality Australian breeding cattlefor existing and new corporatedairy farms. We believe in qualityand transparency of operations.New and existing farm manage-ment teams are welcome to con-tact us and join us in Australia towitness our massive and highlyorganised cattle selection, ship-ping and export operations. Wehave started booking dairy cattleorders for our ship scheduled toarr ive in Pakistan in Oct/Nov2014.
Bank of Punjab
THE Bank of Punjab (BOP) wasestablished in 1989 through an actof Provincial Assembly of Punjab,as a non-scheduled bank.However, the bank earned the sta-tus of a scheduled bank in 1994.
The current BOP managementtook over the helm of affairs in2008 at a very critical juncturewhen the bank was hit by a seriesof scandals relating to imprudentlending, which tarnished the publicperception of the organisation andjeopardised its existence. Thenegative media hype coupled withprevalent economic meltdown hadadversely shaken the confidenceof depositors, shareholders andsponsors. Owing to massivedeposit withdrawals and deteriora-tion in asset quality, the bank wasnot in a position to meet the statu-tory regulatory requirements. Thebank was lacking on fronts ofCorporate Governance, RiskManagement, Internal Audit andControls and Compliance whichwere significantly hampering thesmooth functioning of the organi-sation. The Capital Structure wasextremely weak and not adequateenough to support the deteriorat-ing quality of Risk Assets.
Concomitantly, the economy ofthe country has been experiencingthe aftermath of global recessionand internal pressures. The per-sistent energy crisis, global eco-nomic meltdown, low investmentand deteriorating law and ordersituation in the country significant-ly retarded the growth of the econ-omy. A decade long war on terrorbeing fought at the north westernfront of the country continued tohamper the investment prospectsand potential growth opportunities.
The period was no exception forthe banking industry as BOP con-tinued to suffer from the effects ofeconomic recession. The lowinvestment opportunity, worseningre-payment capacity of borrowersand energy crisis resulted into aphenomenal surge in the Non-Performing portfolio of the bankingindustry. The overall volume ofNPLs port fo l io of the bankingindustry touched the level of 600billion.
The new management acceptedthe challenge of rebuilding thebank’s image and besidesrevamping the organisat ion,strategies were developed to putthe bank back on track. Now, dueto continuous support of the gov-ernment of Punjab, guidance ofState Bank of Pakistan, stringentefforts put in by the managementand staff members, the BOP has
once again embarked upon thejourney of success.
The bank has been able toachieve phenomenal growth in allfacets of operations. The handlingof substantial volume of HomeRemittance Business under thePakistan Remittance Ini t iat ive(PRI), facilitating the governmentof Punjab in wheat procurementas a lead arranger and handling ofone of the largest auto financingportfolio in the banking industry ofPakistan with financing of 20,000vehic les to Sel f EmploymentScheme for Educated Youth(SESEUY) under the governmentof Punjab youth employment initia-tive are the laurels amongst othernumerous achievements.
The signs of improvement in thefinancial health of the bank areclearly evident from the bank’sfinancial position. The balancesheet size has increased fromRs186 bil l ion to Rs353 bil l ion,depicting a growth of 90%. Thedeposi ts have increased fromRs164 bil l ion to Rs307 bil l ion,showing a growth of 87%. Theadvances of the bank haveincreased from Rs151 billion toRs183 billion, showing a rise of21%. Further, investment of theBank has increased from Rs29 bil-lion to Rs139 billion showing agrowth of 379%. The profitabilityof the bank has increased sub-stantially after incurring heavylosses during years 2008-10.
The improved financial health ofthe bank has been acknowledgedby the shareholders and investorsas the share of the bank is beingtraded at a l l three stockexchanges of the country with avery healthy daily trading volume.Further, improvement in bank’sfinancial health has also beenacknowledged by Pakistan CreditRating Agency (PACRA) whichhas removed negative outlookearlier assigned to bank’s ratingsand has now assigned stable out-look to long-term and short-termrating of AA- and A1+, respective-ly.
BOP has a nationwide networkof 334 branches, providing a widerange of products and services tocater to the needs of i ts cus-tomers. The bank has planned toopen another 45 branches duringyear 2014. The branches havebeen refurbished to disseminate amodernised outlook aimed at pro-viding efficient services to its val-ued customers.
The bank fully acknowledgesthe role and importance ofInformation Technology in modernbanking. The bank has a footprintof 334 online branches along with167 ATMs installed at strategiclocations of key cities to help cus-tomers enjoy 24/7 banking ser-v ices c lose to their businessplaces and wherever they go. Thebranch network has been providedwith backup connectivity arrange-ments to ensure uninterruptedonl ine services to the cl ients.Further, the bank has a compre-hensive IT secur i ty pol icy toensure safety of customer’s dataand facilitate execution of bankingtransactions in a secured environ-ment.
The bank ensures maintenanceof backup of IT-related data ofeach and every transaction to
encounter any issue related tomalfunctioning of hardware ordata loss. Further, to ensure safe-ty of entire IT setup, a completeand fully functional disaster recov-ery site has been established andkept in workable conditions in linewith the Business Continuity Planof the bank.
During the year 2013, the Bankof Punjab entered into a newphase by starting Islamic Bankingoperations. Now, the BOP has anetwork of seven Islamic Bankingbranches of fer ing a rangeShariah-compliant products andservices to the customers.Although Islamic Banking opera-tions are quite new in BOP, butsubstantial growth has been madein a per iod of a few months.Besides offering deposits prod-ucts, the bank has also startedf inancing under Murabaha,Diminishing Musharaka andIjarah.
Human resource strategies ofthe bank are based on the princi-ples of meritocracy, transparencyand equal opportunity for all tohelp translate the individual hardwork of staff members into con-centrated team effort enablingimplementat ion of formulatedstrategic business plan of thebank. The human resource poli-cies are formulated in a manner tocater to all needs of the organisa-tion such as recruitment of bestbrains available in the market,continuously impart ing qual i tytraining and ensure patronage ofthe career of each staff member.The overal l goals set in theStrategic Business Plan are sub-divided into individual goals andcommunicated down the line witha comprehensive mechanism ofmonitor ing Key PerformanceIndicators (KPIs) throughout theyear. The human resource policesensure that each and every staffcontributing toward the achieve-ment of organisational goal is dulyrewarded at the time of annualappraisals. The appraisal systemis based on SMART objective, fol-lowing the MBO model.
The bank currently has an effi-cient and well-trained team of6,092 staff members. In order tomeet their training needs, the BOPhas established a state-of-the-artLearning and Development Centrewhich is ensuring that each andevery staff member continuallyundergoes training to help facili-tate them to improve their skill-set.Besides arrangements of in-housetraining courses, the bank alsoensures that the staff membersalso participate in the trainingcourses and seminars arranged byreputed institutions of the country.During the year 2013, over 4,000staff members attended varioustraining courses.
The Bank of Punjab has beenplaying a lead role in financing theagriculture sector of the country.Considering the agriculture baseof the economy, the bank is focus-ing on corporate farmers, com-mercial entities and individualsdealing in agriculture to provideproduction loans.
In order to mechanise the agri-cul ture sector of the country,financing facility is being offered tothe farmers for purchase of trac-tors, mechanisation, establish-
ment of green houses and coldstorages.
Al though the BOP hasembarked upon a journey of suc-cess, but the mission of the cur-rent regime is to earn a placeamong the top financial institu-t ions of the country and leavebehind a legacy of success, trans-parency, trust and dignity.
Bayer
HAVING recently celebrated150th anniversary last year, Bayeris a global enterprise with corecompetencies in the f ie lds ofhealthcare, agriculture and hi-techpolymer materials. As an innova-tion company, it sets trends inresearch-intensive areas. Bayer’sproducts and services aredesigned to benefit people andimprove the quality of life.
Bayer CropScience, a subgroupof Bayer, is a world leader in theareas of crop protection, pest con-trol, seeds and plant biotechnolo-gy. As an innovation leader in thecrop protection industry, it devel-ops new products and sustainablesolutions which help safeguardharvests and yields in order tomeet the growing demand for highquality food and feed, fibre andenergy crops.
In Pakistan, Bayer CropSciencewas established in 1963 and nowemploys numerous agriculturalgraduates and professionally qual-ified personnel in all our businessareas. Not only this, but BayerCropScience is now one of theleading and fastest growing cropprotect ion companies in thePakistan market. The companyhas a strong distribution setup,which delivers Crop Protectionproducts to farmers all over thecountry through a network of over1,200 dealers.
Bayer CropScience has a com-petitive range of portfolio whichprovides solutions to almost allmajor crops and crop segmentsacross Pakistan. Some of the keyproducts, as per crops, are high-lighted below:
In Wheat, we have a uniqueproduct Atlantis which is a single-shot solution for broad and narrowleaf weeds. We also have two pio-neer seed treatment products:Hombre and Raxil Ultra. In fact,based on our well-balanced port-fo l io compris ing insect ic ides,fungicides and combination prod-ucts wor ldwide, BayerCropScience is the clear numberone in this field.
In Cotton, we have a number ofnew chemistries and outstandingproducts like Movento (for Whitefly Management), Belt (for ArmyWorm Control), Oberon (Mitesspecial ist) and Drop Ultra (forHarvest management and Timelywheat sowing).
In rice we have two herbicidescovering the broad and narrowleaf market: Topstar and Sunstar.We also have a foliar insecticideproduct: Regent. Plus. We alsohave Nativo, which not only is anexcellent disease managementsolution but also has the addedbenef i t for providing a uniqueshine to the rice crop.
In sugarcane we have an excep-tional product in Regent for yieldand product iv i ty managementbesides insect control.
In F&V we have a broad portfo-lio with a brilliant range of diseasemanagement products namelyAntacol, Melody, Monceren and
Nativo for pre and post use givingan F&V farmer flexibility of use.
Bayer CropScience also offerscrop programmes which bunch upmore than one of the productsabove to offer an unbeatable com-bination for farmers, resulting inhigher yields, higher return oninvestments and hence higherprofitability.
Bayer CropScience, however,just doesn’t provide the Pakistanimarket with products; we also pro-vide our expertise with servicessuch as Farmer Advisor ies,Farmer Meeting, Bio-Efficacy FieldDays, Harvest Field Days andDemos. The goal here is simple –help farmers achieve a betterquality and higher yield. In turn,we are supporting and strengthen-ing the Pakistani economy as awhole.
Bayer is recognised globally asa leader and hence our productsbeing superior to generics offervalue for money rather than short-term gain by being cheaper toconsumers. It is this frame of mindwhich also defines our target mar-ket as progressive and visionaryfarmers across Pakistan.
Lastly, Bayer CropScience alsoacts as a facilitator in forging part-nerships with possible members ofthe food chain, proactively bring-ing together the various partnersin the chain to work on sustainablecrop solutions. Because, at BayerCropScience, we strongly believethat our responsibility for the foodchain goes far beyond just sellingCrop Protection products.
So, whenever you need cropexpertise or consultation, BayerCropScience is just a call away.
Cattlekit
CATTLEKIT is dairy farm equip-ment and mi lk ing solut ionsprovider for dairy farmers inPakistan. The company’s headoff ice is in Lahore and salesteams spread across dif ferentregions of Pakistan to serve dairyfarmers with small, medium andlarge herd sizes. Cattlekit is builtaround the concept of total solu-tion provider to dairy farmers inPakistan in terms of farm equip-ment, dairy hygiene and otherrelated products wherever andwhenever dairy farmers need inPakistan.
At Cattlekit, our focus is on ser-vice rather sales. We are strivingto achieve happiness of our cus-tomers by delivering high-qualityproducts and services which helptheir business. Cattlekit is fastestgrowing firm in the category ofdairy farm equipment and solu-tions. In a very short t ime, wehave built a strong team structureand customer base across differ-ent cities of Pakistan. With our24/7 customer service, we canreach our customers as they needus.
Cattlekit Dairy Mart is proud tobe Pakistan’s first dairy store ofits kind. It provides all the neededequipment f rom mi lk ingmachines, mi lk ing systems,silage machines, feed mix wag-ons (TMR) and other re la tedaccessories under one roof. First,Cattlekit Dairy Mart was launchedin Depalpur (District Okara) andothers are under way in northernand southern Punjab.
We proudly represent two well-reputed global companies in thefield of dairy farming equipmentwhich are: Melasty Mi lk ing
Partners ...
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 2014 23
Systems, and Celikel AgriculturalMachines.
Melasty Milking Machines aresuperior quality milking machinesproduced in Turkey. Catt leki tPakistan is proud to introduceMelasty mi lk ing machines inPakistan as exclusive distributorof Melasty for Pakistan.
Melasty machines are beingexported to the world includingEurope, Middle East, Asia, SouthAmerica and Russia. Melastymachines are high quality andstrictly conform to European man-ufacturing quality standards. Eachpart of Melasty milking machinetalks about its high quality and his-tory of engineering experience ofmore than 40 years in dairy milk-ing equipment:
Melasty milking machines areonly machines which provide war-ranty for two years for any manu-facturing parts and defects.
Cattlekit provides our customerswith 24-hour emergency servicefor any technical help and queries.We will make sure that we reachyou at our earliest, as you call anyof Cattlekit service team or salesstaff.
Based on herd size and numberof milking animals at the farm, ourteam would suggest to you thebest suitable milking machine orsystem from among many: SingleMilking Machine; Double ClusterSing Bucket Mi lk ing Machine;Double Cluster Double BucketMilking Machine; Bucket MilkingSystem – 4 Heads; Bucket MilkingSystem – 8 Heads; Bucket MilkingSystem – 10 Heads; Milk Line withMilk Meters – 10 Heads; Milk Linewith Milk Meters – 20 Heads etc.
We offer you complete freedomto choose your specification ofmachines which sui ts you thebest. These include: Electric vsdual machines with petrol engine(to solve loadshedding issue);Silicon vs Rubber Liner; StainlessSteel vs Si lver Buckets;Electrostatic red vs chrome/gal-
vanised; Single vs DoubleMachine; Economy Junior vs regu-lar machine; Fixed vs Mobile; andCow vs Buffalo milking.
As for the quality of Melastymilking machines , it is based onSuperior Liner Qual i ty whichmeans no vacuum loss, no defor-mation. They are ergonomicallyshaped and suitable for high andlow yielding animals. A diameterof 18.5mm enables one to havethe milk easily from liner. Also, themilk outlet tube has been expand-ed to make milk transition morecomfortable and thus milking timewith Melasty machine is reduced.Importantly, due to the vacuumfluctuations, milk gets back in tothe nipples; th is causes thebiggest reason for udder diseases.On Melasty Claw the capacity hasbeen increased to 240cc to pre-vent this by reducing the fluctua-tions while milking.
Internal d iameter has beenexpanded for a more convenienttransition. During the hot weatherconditions, hose adhesion aftersoftening while milk flow has beenprevented with the wall thicknessof 4.5mm and internal diameterØ16mm.
The vacuum line in chassis isprovided in a closed circulatingsystem, thus, vacuum line hasbeen isolated from corrosionwhich may occur on chassis withthe passage of time. Also, 5mmsheet was used in connection withair tank and chassis and the vibra-t ion result ing sound has beenblocked, thus more sol id andstrong structure was redesigned.
The vacuum distributor quality isimproved by Melasty VacuumDistributor with Inlet Ø30mm –outlet Ø24, 5mm and air tank vac-uum out let was upgraded toØ32mm, thus makes machinebreathes more comfortable.
This is also our honour to bringfor dairy farmers in Pakistan,Celikel Agricultural MachineryCompany as distributor for Celikel
for Pakistan and Afghanistan. Thecompany was established in 1962and has experience in the agricul-tural and dairy machines businessfor over 50 years. Celikel sells inover 30 countr ies around theworld and enjoys leadership in thissegment in Turkey. Qual i ty ofproducts produced by Celikel isapproved by TSEK certificatethat was provided by the TurkishStandards Institute, AgricultureTools and Machine Test Centre,ISO 9001-2000 Quality Certificateand CE Quality Certificate.
Celikel provides one-year war-ranty on all of their equipment.
Cattlekit provides our customerswith 24-hour emergency servicefor any technical help and queries.We will make sure that we reachyou at our earliest, as your callany of Cattlekit service team orsales staff.
Celikel dairy equipment con-forms to European quality stan-dards. Celikel provides a completerange of dairy farm equipmentwhich you must have at your farm:
Celikel Silage Making Machinesinclude: Single Row MaizeChopper – Ideal silage makingmachine for small and mediumsize farmers; Row IndependentMaize Chopper – Silage makingmachine for medium to large dairyfarmers; Forage Harvester – Idealfor chopping of Lucerne, grassand green fodder for silage pur-pose or daily consumption of ani-mals.
Celikel Maize Chopper is 36times cheaper in labour force;Celikel Maize Chopper is 4 timesfaster in chopping time. CelikelMaize Chopper is 36 times fasterin harvesting time; Celikel MaizeChopper can harvest, chop andcollect at the same time; and qual-
ity of the harvested material issuperior.
Celikel Feed Mix Wagon (TMRMachine) has been designed towork with all kinds of feed and toperform mixing without requiringpre-cutt ing. CHARGER doubleauger system provides super easi-ness to mix completely fibrous orbale materials and all componentsthat should be mixed.Consequently, it becomes qualityand homogenous feed. A homoge-nous mixture is necessary to com-pletely meet feeding and physio-logic needs of your animals.
We offer complete range ofTMR to fit your farm’s needs.
At Cattlekit, we welcome you atour store and office. Feel free tocontact our team and we will behappy to serve you. We can bereached at
CLAAS Machinery
CLAAS is one of the world’sleading manufacturers of agricul-tural machinery. The CLAASbrand stands for latest technologyin the agricultural business and iswel l-known among farmers al lover the world. About 40% ofcombine harvesters sold inEurope come from the companybased in Harsewinkel in Germany.CLAAS is the world market leaderwith i ts second large productgroup, i.e. self-propelled forageharvesters.
Besides combine harvesters,self-propelled forage harvestersand tractors CLAAS is also one ofthe leaders in worldwide agricul-tural technology with agriculturalbalers and grassland harvestingmachines. The range of productsfurthermore includes modern sys-tem, transportation and traction
vehicles, as well as the latest agri-cultural information technology.
Founded in 1913 by AugustCLAAS, it is still a company withfamily participation. With HelmutCLAAS as chairperson of theshareholders’ commit tee, hisdaughter Cathr ina CLAAS -Mühlhäuser as chairperson of theSupervisory Board and represen-tatives from the two other ownerfamilies, it also remains family-run.
Through its range of complete,perfectly matched harvest chainsfrom mowing, tedding andswathing to loading, chopping orbaling, CLAAS can offer unique,well-designed forage harvestingtechnologies that are suited tovarious farm structures.
All mowers, swathers and ted-ders from CLAAS are developedand manufactured in Bad
Saulgau, Germany. Ever since CLAAS was granted
the first patent for its knotter tech-nology in 1921, the company hascontinued to develop intelligentsolutions for enhanced straw qual-ity. With the new chopping systemon the QUADRANT 3300 RC andQUADRANT 3200 RC/FC, CLAASnow adds even greater diversity toits range of large square balers forall forge types.
CLAAS forage harvesting tech-nology also presents some newdevelopments for 2013. TheVOLTO 1100 is the world’s firstten-rotor tedder for three-pointat tachment. This tedder isequipped with a working width of10.70 metres. A new crop flowconcept facilitates higher workingspeeds through an improved cropflow with exceptionally gentle han-dling of the forage.
The LINER 500 is a new one-rotor swather with a working widthof 4.80 metres working width. Ithas a continuously lubricated rotorhousing with 14 tine arms and aPROFIX tine arm bracket for zero-play and wear-resistant seating.
Thanks to fully floating suspensionon the rotor the LINER 500 has athree-dimensional ground-contourfollowing.
CLAAS has a total of 11 manu-facturing locations, meaning thatit can meet the requirements ofthe var ious markets wi th i tssteadily growing product range. Indoing so, the company is alwaysguided by the demands of theworld market, and i t developsmachines to meet the individualneeds and conditions in the rele-vant country. Three regional cen-tres, sixteen sales companies andmore than 1,000 sales partners inover 100 countries throughout theworld ensure that sales, serviceand the supply of spare parts runsmoothly and with extensive cov-erage.
In 2009 RAVI Agric launchedCLAAS in Pakistan as they startedto sell and service the CLAASproduct range as official importers.
Since then, CLAAS balers andforage harvesting machines haveproven good success amongPakistani agriculture. Ravi Agricaims at enhancing the productivityof agricultural fields, dairy farmsand biomass businesses inPakistan by bringing CLAAS’ per-fect business solut ions to thenation starving for agriculturaltechnologies.
With CLASS agricultural excel-lence gained through a century ofservices in fields across the globeand Ravi Agric’s motivation to rev-olutionise the agricultural sector ofPakistan, a new era of technologi-cal reforms is about to dawn.
DHL and Economic Growth
GLOBALIZATION, consolidationand technology advancementshave led to the growth of logisticsindustry. Logist ics has gainedincreasing attention over the lasttwo decades since it may lead toreduced operat ional costs,improved delivery performance
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and increased customer satisfac-tion levels. More and more multi-national companies (MNCs) aresourcing, manufacturing and dis-tributing on a global scale, makingtheir supply chains very complexto manage. However, outsourcinglogistics activities to experiencedlogistics service providers (LSPs),also known as third-party logistics(3PL) providers, may enable com-panies get very efficient and cus-tomised logistical support whilethemselves focusing on the coreorganisational activities.
In today’s highly developedtime, logistics is being used as amore complex term than justputting the right thing at the rightplace at the right time! It is nomore one of the elements in the“four Ps” of the marketing mix.Today, Logistics is the manage-ment of the flow of goods and ser-vices between the point of originand the point of consumption inorder to meet the requirements ofcustomers. It involves the integra-tion of information, transportation,inventory, warehousing, materialhandl ing, and packaging, andoften security.
Formerly, warehousing facilitiesand logistic facilities were situatedin remote areas like water port,beside rail tracks and those placesin towns or cities which were nottreaded up on by many. However,these sites shifted to rural areasand other localities. The logisticsindustry has experienced severalchanges over the years. Thesechanges can be attributed to thegrowth in the retail industry andthe manufacturing segments.
Efficient and effective logisticsoperations help in saving cost bycentralising inventory manage-ment through reduced number ofinventory holding locations, aswell as the size and value of theinventory held. Faster OrderFulfilment by relying on a globaltransportation network and logis-tics inventory management sys-tem, giving them the abil i ty toaccess and dispatch inventory 24hours a day, 365 days a year. Thefacility to use bonded warehousesfor testing and storage providesthe option to defer customs dutiesand taxes which consequentlyimproves cash f low. Logist icsoperations also provide flexibilityto efficiently change distributionpatterns for new products, basedon ever changing customerdemands.
The global logistics market hasgrown tremendously over theyears generating total revenues ofUS$3,566 billion ($3.6 trillion) a lit-tle over a year ago, representing acompound annual growth rate ofsix per cent from 2004–08. Theindustry is forecast to grow at arate of two per cent over the nextfive years, expected to reach US$4,000 billion ($4 trillion) by theend of 2015.
Although the revenues of the top10 logistics companies increasedby f ive per cent dur ing 2008,reaching US$284.6 billion, in spiteof the global financial slowdown,their operating profit decreased by0.5 per cent to US$15 billion. Theeffect on their bottom line wasmore dramat ic, as net prof i tsdecreased by 40.8 per cent toUS$5.7 billion, yet the logisticsindustry fared better than manyother sectors of the economy andDHL did better than most logisticscompanies, registering revenuesof US$46 billion last year.
Geographically, Pakistan has ahighly strategic location being inthe centre of Asia, and thus actsas a hub of economic and busi-ness activities between CentralAsian countries, rich Gulf Statesand economically advanced FarEast. Therefore it has the potentialto attract tremendous amount ofbusiness activities through road,rail, air and sea. But unfortunatelythe country is facing massive chal-lenges; some of them are listedbelow:
The first and foremost beinglack of infrastructure.
There is no border crossingagreement for trucks with coun-tries bordering with which causesdelays and inef f ic iency inimport/export processes.
Too many regulat ions,import/export procedures, andrequired documents make interna-tional trade very slow and costly.
Lack of coordination betweenthe different participants in thesupply chain.
Security threats, both in facilitiesand transportation systems.
Little use of information tech-nologies by small and medium-sized companies. Most of themsee the technologies as anexpense, instead of as a tool orinvestment. There is not muchpromotion on the benefits of usingadvanced technologies, and thereis a backlog in affordable stafftraining for small companies
Railroad transportation is thecheapest form of transportation fordistances over 450 kilometres.However, railroads are not exten-sively used due to the lack ofenough inter-modal connectionswith railroads in maritime portsand inland distribution centres.Ports have not developed enoughinfrastructures for an efficient con-nection with railroad and trucktransportation systems. In additionto this, the lack of efficiency incustoms inspection means thatthe average stay of containers inthe ports is double the internation-al average.
Uncertain business environmentdue to law and order situationinhibits investments and projectdevelopment and
If Pakistan’s international freightforwarding, logistics and transportsectors were to move forward,then we would need to institution-alise the existence of logisticsindustry on a much larger canvasssupported with appropriate inter-national linkages. It is imperativethat the logistics industry is givenits due importance and the gov-ernment should recognise logisticsas a vital industry for the econom-ic development and progress ofthe country.
Guard Research & Services
IN Pakistan, r ice holds animportant posit ion in food andcash crops. I t ranks secondamong the staple food grains,third in terms of area after wheatand cotton and major source offoreign exchange earnings. I taccounted for 11% in the totalcropped area and 20% of acreageunder food crops i.e. 2011-12. Theshare of the rice in the value ofexport of major agricultural com-modities is about 8%.
Rice is grown in irrigated areasof Pakistan. Punjab is the leadingrice-producing province where70% of r ice area is under theworld famous basmati rice, while
the remaining area is under IRRIand other rice varieties. Sindh,Balochistan and KPK provincesare cultivating coarse rice vari-eties. Rice production has beenfluctuating from 4.5 to 6.5 milliontons during the decade ending2012-13. During last three years itaveraged at six million tons. Inspite of technological advances,average rice yield in Pakistan iscomparatively low and needs toincrease in order to sustain foodsecurity at home and maintain ourshare in world markets.
In Pakistan three types of rice isgrown i.e. Basmati, IRRI and oth-ers on an area of 2.5 mi l l ionhectares. Basmati is grown on54% of the area, IRRI on 31% andothers on 15% of the area. Thearea and the yield obtained fromthree types of rice during the lastten years are impressive.
Area and yield figures are lowand almost stagnant except theyield figures of IRRI because itincludes yield figures of hybridrice.
The green revolution of rice inPakistan came in 1967 onwardswhen IR8 rice variety was intro-duced from IRRI. Simultaneously,rice nurseries were given by IRRIto r ice Research Inst i tuteKalashakaku and Rice ResearchInstitute Dokri. Both these insti-tutes selected IR6 rice varietywhich was approved and commer-cialised in1969 for the whole ofPakistan. With the adoption of IR6the average yield of r ice hadimproved over the local high andlow yielding r ice var iet ies.Thereafter a series of rice vari-et ies have been developed byRice Research Institute, but nonecould replace the IR6 variety.
Over a period of time the yieldof traditional rice varieties becamelow and remained almost stagnantfor several decades. The cost ofinputs increased several times; asa resul t the r ice crop startedbecoming unprof i table to r icegrowers. Yield cannot matchwhich the increasing cost of inputsas a result cost of production per40kg is more which creates prob-lems for Pakistan to sell its coarserice in the international marketbecause of high price. There wasno chance of increasing areaunder the rice crops to increaserice production. The decline inland resources and shortage ofirrigation water are other problemin obtaining high rice production.The rice production could only beincreased through vert icalincrease i.e. to increase the yieldper hectare which was only possi-ble through adoption of hybridrice, which doubles the yield oftraditional rice varieties.
I t was conceived by ChiefExecutive of Guard AgriculturalResearch and Services, Mr.Shahzad Ali Malik, in 1999 thatthe only option left for increasingrice production in Pakistan is tointroduce hybrid rice from China.He met Prof. Yuan Longping, thefather of hybrid rice, and made anagreement in 1999 to introducehybrid rice in Pakistan. In the year2000 five different rice hybridswere introduced in Pakistan.These were tested in station trialhaving local rice variety IR6 as
check. The rice hybrids out-yield-ed the check variety. All the fiver ice hybr ids were tested inNational Uniform Trials under thetechnical supervision of NationalRice Coordinator and in collabora-tion with Provincial Rice ResearchInstitute, agriculture extension andadaptive research departments.Simultaneously two promisinghybrids viz Guard-50 and Guard-53 were tested on growers’ fieldsat several locat ions al l overPakistan where these performedextremely good and yielded 90 to100 maunds per acre. Based onyield performance in trials anddemonstration plots our two ricehybrids viz Guard-50 and Guard-53 were approved by the govern-ment system in 2003 for generalcultivation in Pakistan.
Accordingly, Guard AgriculturalResearch and Services is the firstpr ivate-sector company ofPakistan which introduced the ricehybrids from China during the year2000. Again the commercialisationof hybrid seeds in Pakistan for thef i rst t ime started from 2002onwards through GuardAgricul tural Research andServices. The research efforts ofGuard Agricultural Research andServices on development of newrice hybrids with improved graintype continued. Until 2009, six ricehybrids have been developed andgot cleared from government sys-tem for general cul t ivat ion inPakistan. Out of these six ricehybr ids, f ive are marketed inPakistan and all of which yieldmore than 100 maunds per acre.
Besides Guard Agr icul turalResearch and Services, severalother national and multinationalseed companies have entered inthe hybrid rice business from 2005onwards. So far, 54 different ricehybrids belonging to 24 seedscompanies are cleared by govern-ment system for general cultiva-t ion in Pakistan. Sequence ofclearance was 2 hybrids in 2003,5 hybrids in 2008, 14 hybrids in2009, 15 hybr ids in 2010, 14hybrids in 2011 and 4 hybrids in2012. During 2013, 72 hybridsbelonging to 28 seed companieswere being evaluated in NationalUniform Trials.
The government of Pakistan hasset certain procedures forapproval of hybrid rice in Pakistanrelated to the infrastructure andtechnical staff for seed sourcecompany and the seed importingcompany. It is also suggested thatcandidate hybrid should be testedin National Uniform Trials in differ-ent agro-climatic conditions ofPakistan for at least two years. Itshould also be tested in DUS andspot examination trials. The hybridshould be tested for resistance topromising insects and diseases.The mi l l ing and cooking testshould also be carr ied out forwhich specifications are: Headrice recovery, more than 50%;Average grain length (AGL), notless then 6.7mm; Breadth, notmore than 2.0mm; Thickness, Notmore than 1.8mm; cooked grainlength, more than 11.0mm;Bursting, not more than 13%; andAmylose content, not less than18%.
The commercial sale of hybrid
seed in Pakistan started in 2002.It is reported that an area of 971acres was planted under hybridrice in 2002 which is 0.05% of thearea under IRRI varieties. With thepassage of time the area underhybrid rice increased and by theyear 2013 it has covered about50% of IRRI area. Pakistan hasplan to replace IRRI rice area withhybrid rice for which huge quantityof 12000 metric ton of hybrid seedwill be required which is beyondthe scope of one company. I fPakistan replaces other varietieswith hybrid rice also, additional6,000 metric tons of hybrid seedwi l l be required. However, i fPakistan replaces IRRI rice areawith hybrid rice, the production ofcoarse rice will be doubled and itwill add billions of rupees in theincome of growers and the econo-my of Pakistan. However, if APSAhelps Pakistan to develop localparental lines of hybrid and mostof the seed companies areinvolved in local seed production,a great quantity of hybrid seedrequired could be met from localseed production.
Although the hybrid rice hasproved to give double yield ascompared to traditional rice vari-eties, yet there are several factorswhich hinder the adopt ion ofhybrid rice due to one or the otherfactor. The inconsistent perfor-mance of hybrid rice at farmers’fields is a major factor which cre-ates doubts in the growers’ mindfor adoption of hybrid rice. Thegrowers do not understand theproper agronomic management ofrice hybrid and as a result theyharvest low yield and do not adoptcul t ivat ion of hybr id r ice.Inadequate availabil i ty of pureseed is again a major factor whichcreates problems in the adoptionof hybrid rice. The high cost ofhybrid seed, which is almost 15-20t imes more than the cost ofinbred, is one of the major factorsfor the adoption of hybrid seed asa simple grower cannot afford thehigh cost of seed and decide forinbred cul t ivat ion. In case ofinbred, the grower is using hisown seed for the next year’s cropwhich is not possible for hybridand hence the growers avoidadoption of hybrid rice.
There is need to develop betterrice hybrids and effective technol-ogy transfer systems to populariserice hybrids among the farmers.An effective mechanism should beestablished to link research, seedproduction and technology trans-fer systems.
Local hybrid seed production isan important component of hybridrice project. Guard AgriculturalResearch and Services in collabo-ration with Chinese counterpartstarted seed production experi-ments in Lahore during 2004 and2005. The high temperature andlow humidity at Lahore proved hin-drances in getting high seed pro-duction. In the year 2007 GuardAgricul tural Research andServices decided to shift its seedproduction project to southern partof Pakistan which is the coastalbelt having low temperature andhigh humidity Guard AgriculturalResearch and Services has beenproducing hybrid r ice seed byinvolving rice growers since 2007onwards. Yields as high as fivemetric tons per hectare have beenobtained but the average yield of3-3.5 metric ton per hectare isvery common. The growers are
very happy with this project asthey are gett ing an income ofRs500,000 from one hectare. Wehave plans to increase the areaunder seed production every yearby involving more number of grow-ers in the system. Besides GuardAgricul tural Research andServices, some other nationalseed companies have startedseed production experiments, butthey have not succeeded to theextent of Guard Agr icul turalResearch and Services. If otherseed companies start producinghybrid rice locally, we can meetthe demand of hybrid rice seed toa great extent. By doing so we canincrease the income of rice grow-ers, employ additional labour inseed product ion to solve theunemployment problem, and savehuge foreign exchange on theimport of hybrid rice seed.
It is reported that about 250,000people are included in the worldevery day, major i ty of whombelongs to Asia where the majorfood is rice. Asia harvests about520 million tons of rice from 139million hectares which is 92% ofthe total world rice production from149 million hectares. By the year2020 the world production shouldincrease to 690 mill ion tons tofeed the increasing population. Allthis could be done through adop-tion of hybrid rice.
The soil, climate and irrigationwater in Pakistan are highly suit-able for hybrid rice. The hybridsimported from China are yielding9-10 tons per hectare in Pakistanwhereas these hybrids hardly yieldseven tons per hectare in China.The IRRI rice area which is aboutone-third of total r ice area inPakistan can yield about five tonsper hectare. I f th is area isreplaced with hybrid rice, the riceproduction could double. Hence,there is big scope of introducinghybrid rice in Sindh, Balochistanand southern parts of Punjab.With the adoption of the hybrid,rice production will increase mani-fold and will add billions of rupeesto the income of rice growers andthe economy of Pakistan.
With the cultivation of hybrid ricethe yield of rice crop is doubledwhich increases income of farm-ers. Hybrid rice is early-maturingand hence gives enough room forsecond crop sowing. Due to earli-ness of hybrid rice it could beplanted late and harvested in theright season. Hybrid also needscomparatively less irrigation watercompared to the late local ricevariety. Hybrid rice can performwell in stress conditions like salini-ty, drought and water- loggingareas. – Dr. G.M. Avesi (ChiefR&D)
LUMS
A YEAR-LONG Cert i f icateProgramme in Agr ibusinessManagement by LUMS com-menced on January 18, 2014.This p ioneer ing endeavour,Execut ive Cert i f icate inAgr ibusiness Management(ECAM), is led by RausingExecutive Development Centre atSuleman Dawood School ofBusiness-LUMS and marked firstof its kind certificate programmein the country.
The programme is built around aseries of short-duration modulescovering key disciplines of man-agement with contextual rele-vance for agribusiness and the
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challenges currently facing the sec-tor.
The one-year Executive Certificatein Agribusiness Management cur-riculum includes courses on agri-economics, entrepreneurship, valuechain and technology, finance andaccounting, among others, to equipthe participants with leading edgemanagerial skills and expertise.Participants of the programme aregaining a deeper understanding ofthe agribusiness sector and identify-ing the opportunities that can bemaximised to create value for theirbusinesses and organisations.
HBL and Agriculture
HABIB BANK LIMITED (HBL)firmly believes in the developmentand growth of the rural economy ofPakistan with agriculture being a pri-ority sector for the bank. The bank iscommitted to broadening its ruralcustomer base by providing timelyand convenient banking services.We are a market leader in ruralbanking amongst private commercialbanks. HBL is following a well-thought-out strategy to reach out tothe rural masses. Building on thetraditional brick and mortar infra-structure and traditional businessacquisition channels, we are takinglead in providing innovative bankingproducts for the rural masses. Thisincludes active usage of technology,leveraging HBL branchless bankingplatform to enhance customer con-venience, and linkages throughvalue chain financing to providevalue added services to the farmingcommunity that is not limited tofinancial intermediation only. HBL isvigorously pursuing financial inclu-sion of the rural market through tar-geted media campaigns and struc-tured field activities. HBL Ruralbanking provides a wide array offinancial services targeted towardsthe needs and requirement of therural community. HBL is committedto further expanding financial inclu-sion and deepening its relationshipwith rural masses.
HBL has the largest field force ofrural bankers who are not only dedi-cated to providing the financial solu-tions, but also provide technicalguidance to the farmers. Tailor-made and structured financing prod-ucts are available for farmers. Thereis a whole product range available toserve various farming needs andsub segments.
HBL is exploring new initiatives inrural banking and replicating interna-tional best practices. In addition, thebundling of financial and non-finan-cial services like financial literacyand awareness programmes offernew opportunities for small farmersto increase their productivity andincomes.
With a specialized team of RuralBanking professionals, robustprocesses, modern technologicalinfrastructure, continuing skill devel-opment programs, and commitmentto serve the rural farmers and com-munities, HBL is all geared up toserve them even better.
NBP Agriculture Financing
PAKISTAN’S agricultural sector iscentral to its economic growth anddevelopment. It contributes 21 percent to GDP, employs 45 per cent ofthe country’s labour force and is amajor force of foreign exchangeearnings. It also contributes to thegrowth of other sectors of the econo-my through backward and forwardlinkages.
There exists enormous potential inall sub-sectors of agriculture – crops,livestock, fishing and forestry. Eachhas significance to the economyand, if fully exploited, can contributeto value addition of the sector.Growth of the livestock sub-sectorwhich presently contributes 54 percent of the value addition by agricul-ture and 12 per cent in GDP is vital.It helps raises family incomes as itprovides jobs for the rural popula-tion. About 30-35 million rural popu-lation is engaged in livestock raising.
Despite being the fourth largestmilk producing country in the world,only three per cent of total milk pro-duction is processed because of thelack of the adequate milk collectioncentres in the milk pockets. Of thegross milk production of cows andbuffalos 15 per cent is lost in trans-portation. Setting up of milk collec-tion centres refrigerated transporta-tion and modern management tech-niques would ensure availability ofquality milk to the customers.
Similarly demand for meat isgrowing in the country and there isgreat scope for its exports to variouscountries. Commercial poultry isalso a growing sub-sector, providingemployment and income to about1.5 million people. Because of itsenhanced production, the pressureon the demands for beef and muttonhas lessened. Fishery provides eco-nomic activities along the coastlineof Sindh and Baluchistan.
Financing plays a major part in thedevelopment of the agriculture sub-sectors. Huge potential exists, whichis waiting to be exploited and devel-oped. Among the commercial banks,National Bank of Pakistan leads inagriculture financing. The loansoffered by NBP are for a host ofschemes, both for development andproduction.
National Bank of Pakistan isfinancing for both farm and non-farmsectors. The finance for farm sectoris mainly for farm production andfarm development, while in non-farmsector it is for working capital anddevelopment purposes.
NBP’s Kisaan Dost is an afford-able agriculture programme thatoffers a wide range of financingopportunities especially designed tocater the needs of individual farm-ers.
This programme aims at providingevery farmer the confidence toaccess easy and hustle free loansfor agriculture needs. The pro-gramme also carries with it an auraof convenience; financing is avail-able to farmers against any form ofcollateral, be it Mortgage, AgricultureLandPass Books, Gold ornaments,DSCs/SSCs or other practicalmeans. The approved loan limit isset to be within the farmer’s reach atthe time of need. Kisaan Dostfinancing programme also offerssmall loans up to Rs200,000 tofarmers on group surety.
NBP has many competitiveadvantages in the banking industry,including a wide rural, semi-urbanbranch network and especially acompetitive markup rate.Professional agriculture staff offersfree guidance/advice to farmers witha wide range of financing schemesunder the farm and non-farm sec-tors.
Different activities have been iden-tified within these two sectors whichare broadly categorised as produc-tion and development activities.National Bank of Pakistan hasdevised a comprehensive list ofitems covering almost all the activi-ties ranging from input to farm devel-
opment along the value added chainfrom production up to the process-ing.
Production finance is a financefacility which is given mainly formeeting input needs of a particularcrop. These loans are mainly for thepurchase of agriculture inputs likeseeds, fertilisers, pesticides, etc. andother short-term requirements. It isfurther subdivided into (a) farminputs (b) vegetables (c) Horticultureand Fruits. While farm developmentloan includes (a) Mechanisation andTractors (b) Tube Wells and AlliedEquipment’s (c) Godowns on-farmand off-farm, Corporate Farming.Non-Farm sector includes Livestock,Dairy, Poultry, Fisheries andForestry.
The revolving credit scheme isadvanced feature of NBP KisaanDost Agriculture Production Financescheme. The scheme primarilycaters to the requirements of thefarmers and provides financing forworking capital needs and for pro-duction purpose to eligiblefarmers/growers. This scheme pro-vides facility to the growers for anynumber of withdrawals and repay-ments (multiple operations), withinthe limit for the period of three yearswith once a year clean up from dateof first withdrawal, with the consentof borrower. Farm development loanincludes but is not limited to clear-ance of jungle, levelling, layout, ter-racing, soil improvement, embank-ment, land formation, bund construc-tion, reclamation of land.
The process of obtaining the pro-duction loan is quite simple andstraight forward. The requirementsare as follows: Availability of AgriPass Book or any other security,CNIC, Khasra Girdawari. Oncethese documents are verified, loanapplication is processed swiftly.
Furthermore, crops, livestock,equipment’s and machineries thatare financed by the bank, includingtractors, are insured up to the loanamount. Therefore, in case of anyloss due to approved perils andunforeseen events, insurance com-panies are legally bound to pay loss-es to the affected borrowers.
National Bank of Pakistan is thelargest commercial bank providingAgriculture Finance to contribute tothe development of the agriculturesector of Pakistan. It has designated876 branches out of its 1,342domestic branches for AgricultureFinance.
Pakistan Banking Industry’s agri-culture portfolio consists of Rs278billion by the end of December 2013whereas NBP’s market share isRs59 billion which becomes 58.5%in all commercial banks and 22% inall banks.
All this provides easy access to itscustomers, particularly farmers fromremote areas of the country.Additionally, the bank has deployedspecialised field force officersAgriculture graduates (AgricultureField Officers), who are required tospend a considerable amount oftheir time on the field, especially dur-ing sowing and harvesting seasonsto provide technical support to farm-ers for the adoption of improvedfarming practices, use of betteryielding inputs, pesticides and moreimportantly to facilitate them in meet-ing their financing needs.
Because NBP enjoys a wide rural
and semi-urban branches network,the bank was able to surpass theSBP target by disbursingRs.56,776.524 (M) to 292,828 farm-ers against its target of Rs.47,500(M) for the financial year that endedon 30.06.2013. It surpassed theSBP targets for the year ended31.12.2013 by disbursingRs29,808.310 (M) against SBP tar-get of Rs.29,500 (M) with percent-age achievement of 101.05%. NBPhas also achieved non-farmingPoultry, Livestock and Fisheries tar-gets assigned under AgricultureLending Diversification Project(ALDP).
PDBP
THE Rural Support ProgrammesNetwork (RSPN) is registered underPakistan’s Companies Ordinance(1984) as a non-profit company.RSPN is the largest developmentnetwork of Pakistan, with an out-reach to nearly 32 million ruralPakistanis. RSPN initiated thePakistan Domestic BiogasProgramme (PDBP) in 2009 with thefinancial support of the Embassy ofthe Kingdom of the Netherlands(EKN). PDBP’s vision is to fosterand support the creation of a com-mercially viable biogas sector inPakistan. This programme aims atimproving the livelihood and qualityof life of the rural population inPakistan through exploring the mar-ket and non-market benefits ofdomestic biogas.
PDBP is working in 12 district ofcentral Punjab, namely Faisalabad,Jhang, Sargodha, Chiniot, Toba TekSingh, Khushab, Sahiwal,Pakpattan, Nankana, Sheikhupura,Gujranwala and Okara. Under thePDBP, more than 4,000 domesticbiogas plants have been installedsince 2009. Moreover 300 tubewellshave been switched over to biogassince last year. Now PDBP hasbegun construction of 50 and 100cubic meter sized biogas plants forelectricity generation. Technicalassistance is provided by theNetherlands DevelopmentOrganisation (SNV) and WinrockInternational. PDBP is providingRs40,000 per plant subsidy and isoffering a price which the client canreduce further by contributing un-skilled labour.
Pak Oasis Industries
PAK Oasis Industries (Pvt) Ltd.was established in 2004 with the aimof providing access to clean andsafe drinking water and safe sanita-tion facilities for the people ofPakistan. What started off as a com-pany with just four small desalinationplants installed in Tharparkar desert,Sindh, has today become Pakistan’slargest water engineering companywith hundreds of plants varying inproduction capacity from tens ofthousands of gallons per day to mil-lions of imperial gallons per day.
Within a short span of nine years,Pak Oasis has carved a niche foritself by attaining national and inter-national acclaim as an expert inwater treatment for developing coun-tries and is in the process of utilizingthis expertise developed in Pakistanto assist other countries facing simi-lar water problems.
Fulfilling its commitment to pro-
ducing the highest quality of purifiedwater, the company makes use ofthe best equipment and productswith the help of its international col-laborative partners.
The company’s goal is to broadenthe horizons of its operational activi-ty locally as well as globally throughutilisation of its innovative technolo-gy and human resource expertise toprovide safe and clean drinkingwater in regions where it is a scarcecommodity. Pak Oasis is proud tostate that its investment in technolo-gy and manpower deployment haspaid huge dividends nationally andinternationally.
Pak Oasis international opera-tional activities are based in theUAE. This has enabled Pak Oasis torenew, develop and focus its brandpositioning, its corporate operationsand its global network within thewider water industry. Pak Oasis hasalso used its unique position as aSouth Asian organisation in theMiddle East to attract attention to theneeds of the underprivileged foreasy access to clean drinking water.
The company has taken initiativestowards protecting the environmentby integration of renewable energysources in its existing and newlybuilt plants. Pak Oasis has proudlyset up Pakistan’s first ever com-pletely solar powered Ultra FiltrationPlant in Pakistan.
Our journey to transform innova-tion into reality by integrating worldclass research and developmentresources with business intelligenceand cross-functional efforts with keystakeholders has been a very suc-cessful one.
Pak Oasis connects innovationwith the principles of sustainability tohelp address many of the world’smost challenging problems such asthe need for clean water, renewableenergy generation, and increasingagricultural productivity. With thispassion for innovation, Pak Oasis isable to stand true to its commitmentof continuously creating today’s andtomorrow’s solutions for making theworld safer, healthier, cleaner andmore sustainable.
In the interest of operating in anenvironment-friendly manner, avoiddepletion of the earth’s fossil fuelsand solve the problem of electricityshortfall, the company is usingrenewable solar energy as an alter-native. Pak Oasis is progressivelyworking to provide the most eco-nomical and viable solutions to peo-ple living in deserts, coastal regionsand villages. Solar energy will notonly provide people with economicaland sustainable energy alternativebut it will also produce drinkablewater out of saline water, particularlyin interior Sindh.
Pak Oasis has earned numerousawards in recognition of its efforts forsuccessful completion of differentprojects under challenging condi-tions.
The first pilot project initiated bythe company was to set up a desali-nation plant at four different loca-tions, with the capacity to produceone million litres of clean water perday. This plant has been runningsuccessfully since the last eightyears without fail. Purified water hasresulted in reducing the mortalityrate and brought about a markedimprovement in the general health ofthe people of the area and the ani-mals which produce milk for theirsustenance.
Contamination in natural waterbodies in coastal regions had creat-ed problems for the inhabitants.There was no clean drinking water
for the fishermen and processingfish with purified water had alsobecome a serious problem. To alle-viate health and livelihood problemsof the fishermen, the companyinstalled filtration plants along thecoastline of eastern Sindh, each pro-ducing thousands of gallons per daythereby bringing about overall devel-opment of the coastal region.
Provision of purified water to theport city of Karachi is one of thebiggest challenges which Pak Oasishas overcome by installing multipleReverse Osmosis plants. Clean andsafe water is now accessible for thepeople of Karachi, in a most eco-nomical manner.
The company has introducedsmall filtration schemes in villageswhere water supply available fromwells and hand pumps has becomeunsuitable for human consumptiondue to contamination with pesti-cides, viral material and industrialwaste. The company plans to installfiltration plants to cater to the needsof small and medium sized villagesin the northern and southern regionsof Pakistan.
Pak Oasis is also committed toproviding viable solutions at anational level. A project was initiatedby the government of Sindh to pro-vide clean and safe drinking water in12 flood affected districts. Pak Oasisutilised the Reverse Osmosis tech-nology in flood affected areas to pro-vide purified water to the people.Within 48 hours the companymobilised its resources to establish40 water schemes at different loca-tions to save the people. This is agreat accomplishment for Pak Oasisas no waterborne disease wasrecorded.
Pak Oasis believes that taking theextra step to be socially responsibledoes not hold us back but sets usapart from those who do not believethis policy. Pak Oasis strives to be abetter company, sharing the con-cerns of society and dedicating itscapabilities, resources and people tocreating a sustainable future. Thecompany is involved in communitydevelopment in areas of health, edu-cation and employment of locals inthe area. It also promotes skill devel-opment through apprenticeship pro-grams and makes donations fornational causes.
In a country like Pakistan whichexperiences tumultuous situationsmost of the time in terms of econo-my and politics, a foreign investmentcomes as a breath of fresh air and ahope for a better and prosperousfuture. Renowned Danish companyGrundfos Europe, acclaimed world-wide for manufacturing high pres-sure pumps, has set up a factory inKarachi in collaboration with PakOasis. This joint venture of techno-logical transfer will result in solarpumps being assembled in Pakistan.This will not only benefit local farm-ers but it will also promote the exportbusiness.
The factory’s inaugural ceremonywas attended by the ManagingDirector of Grundfos, the ManagingDirector of Pak Oasis Mr. OmarAbbas Jilani, the ambassador ofDenmark His Excellency JasperMoller Sorenson, Chief MinisterSindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah and otherdignitaries. Local assembly of solarpowered high pressure pumps andsubmersible pumps will have a posi-tive outcome on the agricultural sec-tor and it will also create newemployment opportunities. A foreigninvestment of this nature will alsoencourage other foreign companiesto invest in Pakistan and
Partners ...
DAWN THURSDAY MARCH 13, 201426
uplift the country’s economicalstate.
Governor Punjab has taken aninitiative to hydrate Punjab and inth is regard an Internat ionalDonors Conference titled “CleanWater – Save Child” was held inLahore. Pak Oasis proposal wasselected to provide filtration plantsfor the Governor’s initiative. In arecord time of two weeks, PakOasis was able to accomplishconstruct ion of rooms for thewater plants, carried out watersampling through PCRWR, fin-ished the designing and fabrica-tion of the plants and moved themfrom Karachi to Lahore. Twoplants were also installed at twoorphanages, while one plant wasinstalled at the girls school locat-ed at the Governor’s House com-pound. At the conference, theGovernor of Punjab thanked PakOasis Industr ies for donat ingthree ultra water filtration plants.He also announced that in future,Pak Oasis Industries would beresponsible for instal lat ion ofwater purification plants under“Governor’s Initiative.” Pak Oasishas also set up an ultra filtrationplant at the celebrated shrine ofHazrat Daata Gunj Baksh,Lahore.
Thriving with a staff of 3,000dedicated and hardworkingemployees, Pak Oasis aims atreaching even greater heights ofsuccess by providing faci l i t ieswhich will include domestic needs,thereby becoming a householdname trusted by people from allwalks of life.
Syngenta
SYNGENTA is one of theworld’s leading companies withmore than 27,000 employees insome 90 countries dedicated tothe purpose: bringing plant poten-t ia l to l i fe. The strategy ofSyngenta revolves aroundaddressing the challenges facedby growers in order to contributetowards sustainable agriculturegrowth and subsequently provid-ing greater food security.
Syngenta Pakistan is a sub-sidiary of Syngenta ParticipationsAG, Basel, Switzerland, whichwas incorporated in 2000. Sincethen the company is playing a vitalrole in improving agricultural pro-duction through innovative prod-ucts and farm advisory services.The principal activities of the com-pany comprise formulat ion,repacking, marketing and distribu-t ion of agr icul tural products,including seeds. I t current lyemploys 323 permanent andaround 700 temporary supportstaff.
Syngenta Pakistan Limited is amarket leader in crop protectionand seeds business with a mar-ket share of over 18%. In 2012,the crop protect ion and seedbusiness got integrated globallyto provide complete crop solu-t ions to growers. The productportfolio comprises insecticides,herbicides and fungicides andhybrid seeds covering all majorcrops l ike cotton, wheat, r ice,corn, fruits, vegetables, sunfloweretc. The company distributes itsproducts through an exclusivef ranchise network ca l led‘Nayasavera’ and is current lyoperating through 660 centres
spread across Pakistan.
Solve Agri Pak Limited
SOLVE AGRI PAK means‘Solut ions for L ivestock &Agricul ture Value-AddedEnterprises’. The name very clear-ly depicts our ambitions and ourfocus. Anything you need to besuccessful as a dairy, livestock oragriculture enterprise; we have therecipe for your success. At SolveAgri Pak, we offer workable andsustainable solutions designed tocater to the needs of all stakehold-ers of dairy, livestock and relatedagriculture sectors of Pakistan andbeyond. We provide a range ofproducts and services to publicand private businesses, donorsand development agencies lookingfor solutions to enhance productiv-ity, minimise costs, increase profitmargins, al leviate poverty anddevelop infrastructure.
We represent wor ld ’s f inestbrands from USA and Europe toadd value in livestock and dairysector of Pakistan. Our majorproducts include Bovine semen,Catt le feed, Mineral mixtures,Molasses blocks, Calf milk replac-er, By-pass fat, Toxin binder, Feedmixer wagons, Milking parloursand their spare-parts, Heat detec-tion system, Automatic feeders,Automatic scrappers, Calf hutchesand floors, Milk cooling tanks,Acid and alkali detergents, Preand post-dip solutions, Live animalimports etc.
Our key services include train-ings, farm development and man-agement consultancy, livestockbusiness feasibilities, dairy farm-ing and processing, market andtechnical studies, livestock devel-opment projects, communitydevelopment services, programmeevaluations, dairy product devel-opment and launch etc. For moredetails, visit our website
If you are a livestock and dairyfarmer, Solve Agri Pak is your firstchoice for all your needs.
UAF
THE University of AgricultureFaisalabad (UAF) is the only edu-cational institution in Pakistanwhich stands among the top 100global universit ies. As per theNational Taiwan University WorldRanking, the UAF is standing at98th number in the best universi-ties in Agricultural Sciences. TheUAF has jumped 60 positions in ayear. It has made another mile-stone in the UI Green Metr icWorld University Ranking whichplaces the UAF at 35th best insti-tution worldwide. The UAF is alsoa recipient of IDB Pr ize forExcel lence in Science andTechnology. Taking steps forbuilding knowledge-based econo-my, the university becomes a keyelement of innovation systems asa creator of new knowledge andideas. Since its inception in 1961as universi ty, i t has producedaround 57,000 graduates includ-ing more than 1,100 PhDs. Theuniversity is offering more than100 degree programmes in agri-culture and related disciplines. It isalso running nearly 300 externallyfunded projects worth more thanRs2 bil l ion, showing the confi-dence of international communityand industry.
The UAF has expedited its out-reach programme to transform theknowledge into goods and servicesand serve the community. TheUAF is promoting Massive OpenOnline Courses (MOOCs) to com-plement the education system. It isopening Regional Centres to equipthe dwellers with modern educa-tion at their doorstep.
The UAF is committed to lead-ing a change process in agricul-ture/l ivestock sector to ensurefood security, entrepreneurship inbusiness and industry, and eco-nomic growth for development ofrural communities.
USAID
THE US government throughthe United States Agency forInternat ional Development(USAID) has made a long-termcommitment to support agriculturein Pakistan. More than half ofPakistan’s population is directly orindirectly linked to agriculture. Thesector employs 44 per cent of thenational labour force, as well asprovides broad-based economicgrowth that is critical to Pakistan’slong-term stability and future pros-perity. Economic growth and agri-culture are USAID/Pakistan’s sec-ond highest priority, second onlyto helping Pakistan deal with sig-nificant challenges in its energysector.
USAID works with partners –both local and international – tostrengthen Pakistan’s agriculturalsector by improving the competi-tiveness of its value chains, con-necting Pakistani agricultural com-modity producers with internation-al markets, implementing techno-logical innovations, promoting effi-cient water use, and increasingproductivity. Through current agri-culture programmes, the US gov-ernment has helped over 60,000entrepreneurs start businesses,assisted over 40,000 fami l iesaffected by the 2010 f loods,helped leverage more than $7mil-lion in new private sector agricul-ture investment, created 9,000new jobs and assisted in obtainingmore than $60 million in new agri-culture product export orders.
A HISTORY OF PARTNER-SHIP: The US support toPakistan’s agr icul tural sectorspans several decades. In the1960s, working with the LyallpurRotary Club, USAID helpedPakistan introduce a new high-yielding wheat var iety whichbrought Lyallpur into the GreenRevolution. The region was trans-formed from one that chronicallysuffered food shortages to onethat produced surplus food forsupply to the rest of Pakistan.
USAID has also played a keyrole in improving the variety andquality of several fruits that areenjoyed and exported by Pakistantoday. The ‘kinnow’, now the mostpopular citrus fruit in Pakistan andthe largest citrus export crop pro-duced in the country, was original-ly introduced to the University ofAgriculture, Faisalabad, by USAIDin 1961. Additionally, USAID hasassisted the construction of theBolan Dam in Balochistan in
1980s, the Tunsa Barrage on theIndus River in Muzzaffergarh dis-trict of Punjab in 1954, and con-tributed approximately $800 mil-lion for various Indus Basin pro-jects in the 1960s and 1970s,including the construct ion ofMangla and Tarbela Dams. USAIDalso supported the development ofkey agr icul ture infrastructurefinancing the construction of theDawood Hercules fertiliser plant inSheikhupura, Pak-AmericanFertilisers Limited, and the FujiFertiliser project in Punjab.
The US agricultural efforts evenexpanded to include higher educa-tion including the promotion andfunding of research, development,and dissemination of new tech-niques and technology.Assistance also helped establishthe University of Agriculture inFaisalabad and the AgriculturalUniversity of Peshawar which areconsidered today as two ofPakistan’s premier institutions.
CURRENT INITIATIVES:Currently, USAID’s initiatives inagricultural sectors are helping tomodernise the sector to ensure itssustainability. USAID’s agricultureprogramme provides training,seeds, livestock, improves irriga-tion and other essential farmingneeds. In addi t ion, USAIDimproves value chains and marketaccess, helping to further increaseyields and income for farmers.
To foster improved productivity,product qual i ty, and value,USAID’s Agribusiness Projectremoves constraints to agriculturalproduction and marketing, focus-ing on sub-sectors with significantmarket potential. It then works tointegrate these sectors intodomestic and global markets. Theproject will also work to attract pri-vate sector investment in agri-businesses and promote newinvestment as wel l . Technicalassistance to expand employmentand improve productivity benefit-ing over 500,000 individuals willalso be provided.
To provide additional support tofarmers, USAID is currently con-structing on-farm irrigation infra-structure, which will increase cropproductivity in South Waziristanand Gilgit-Baltistan. USAID is alsointegrating irrigation activities intoits ongoing energy projects at theGomalZam and Satpara dams.Both projects will irrigate more than200,000 acres of farmland, benefit-ing 40,000 rural farming families.Additional work at Satpara willdevelop processing facilities tominimize produce loss and link pro-ducers and processors to nationaland international markets.
The Dairy Project boosts theincomes of small dairy producersin Punjab by providing training inbest practices, train women towork as extension workers, andartificial insemination technicians.Trainees receive basic equipmentand are introduced to techniquesand resources that increase milkyields. The project promotes link-ages between dairy farmers, dairysuppliers, service providers and tomore profitable markets.
The Agriculture Policy Projectsupports policy reform by conduct-
ing and disseminating research infour areas: agricultural production;water management and irrigation;macroeconomics, markets, andtrade; and poverty dynamics andsocial safety nets. The projectalso builds local capacity by link-ing Pakistan research and policyinstitutions with US and interna-tional counterparts in order to con-duct joint policy analyses and dis-seminate research findings.
The Firms Project increases theprofitability and incomes of 3,000small and medium businessesthroughout Pakistan. Focusing onsuch sectors as mangoes, dates,peaches, potatoes and fisheries,the project identifies and removesconstraints to private-sector devel-opment and job growth.
The Entrepreneurs Pro jectexpands market opportunities formicro-entrepreneurs, especiallywomen. It works through local pri-vate-sector entities, the govern-ment , and non-governmenta lorganisations to provide trainingand l ink entrepreneurs in thehand embellished fabrics, dairy,honey and medicinal/aromaticplants sectors to markets nation-wide, increasing sales and prof-its.
The Balochistan Agr icul tureProject is introducing new tech-nologies and practices, improvingmanagement approaches, provid-ing new varieties of crops andlivestock, as well as better watermanagement techniques to farm-ers. To achieve these goals, theproject establishes communityorganisations, mutual marketingorganisations, and farmers mar-keting collectives and providestraining for members.
The Agr icul ture Innovat ionProject increases cereal yields(wheat, rice and maize), vegeta-bles, fruit, and livestock productsthrough the introduction of modernfarming technologies, not currentlyused in Pakistan. These technolo-gies will improve farm yields andincomes.
The United States Department ofAgriculture’s (USDA) ForeignAgricultural Service is working withPakistani institutions on a varietyof programmes and projects. TheFoot and Mouth DiseaseProgramme has already vaccinat-ed over 500,000 cattle, buffalo andyaks, and implemented a new dis-ease surveillance system whichlogged over 2,500 Foot and MouthDisease (FMD) outbreaks as ofJuly 2013. The Peste de PetitsRuminants (PPR) Programme isworking to control a devastatingviral disease of sheep and goats.
The Wheat Product iv i tyProgramme introduced the ‘Narc2011’ wheat variety which is resis-tant to UG99 wheat rust, a dis-ease that has decreased harvests.In conjunction, the Renovation ofthe Cereal Disease Research Labin Murree monitors samples fromacross the country as part of thenewly established rust monitoringand surveillance system.
The USDA and the CottonProductivity Programme have pro-duced four varieties which haveshown preliminary signs of resis-tance to the Cotton Leaf Curl Virus(CLCV), and further testing is con-tinuing.
Other projects such as the SPSDistance Learning Project, pro-vides risk analysis, risk communi-
cation, risk mitigation, and insecttrapping and surveillance tools tofarmers. Remote Sensing Trainingis being provided to help with cropestimation, determine land coverclassifications, and improve fielddata collection methods. Thesesystems, both hardware and soft-ware, are being implemented atCRS Punjab, CRS Sindh,Universi ty of Faisalabad, andUniversity of Tandojam.
The USDA has helped with theestablishment of 30 watershedmanagement demonstration sitesfor rainwater harvesting, high effi-ciency irrigation systems (drip,bubbler, sprinkler, bed and fur-row), and soil and water conserva-tion techniques. The USDA hasalso partnered with the AmericanSoybean Associat ion’s WorldInitiative for Soy in Human Health(WISHH) programme to enhancethe country’s growing aquaculturesector in developing high-protein,floating fish feed.
FLOOD RECOVERYEFFORTS: Following the devas-tating floods of 2010, which affect-ed more than 20 mi l l ionPakistanis, USAID worked torestore the livelihoods of flood vic-t ims through i ts Agr icul tureRecovery Project . More than640,000 farmers throughout thecountry received supplies andseeds that significantly increasedyields and incomes. “The damageto my crops hit me both financiallyand emotionally,” says small-scalefarmer Wazir Bacha who lives inLower Dir d istr ict , KhyberPakhtunkhwa Province. “I hadbought the seeds on credit, butbecause of the damage to mycrops I did not have any money topay for it.”
Wazir and thousands of otherfarmers in Balochistan, Punjab andKP received wheat seeds fromUSAID in time for the planting sea-son. Due to USAID support andthe hard work of Pakistani farmers,there was a bumper crop that year.A total of 570,000 farm familiesbenefited from the project and suf-ficient food was assured for morethan 4.5 million individuals.
In Sindh, where flood waterstook longer to recede, USAIDintroduced sunflowers and trainedfarmers in proper planting tech-niques. This new crop could beplanted later in the year, so farm-ers were still able to cultivate theirlands and earn a profit at harvestt ime benef i t ing an est imated50,000 families.
MOVING FORWARD TOGETH-ER: USAID economic growth andagriculture projects will continue toimprove Pakistan’s agriculturalsector to the benef i t of a l lPakistanis. In conjunction with thenational and provincial govern-ments, USAID is developing newmethods to promote and expandPakistan’s commercial agriculture.Future projects will continue tobuild on current successes whilefocusing on innovative and mod-ern technology ways to bolster thefarm to table process across theagricultural sector, including fruits,vegetables meat and dairy. Thisfocus will help achieve a morecompetitive sector and increaseaccess to both the export anddomestic markets. ■
