The agriculture sector in Pakistan confronts issues at different levels, which is negatively impacting the wellbeing of farmers and perpetuating poverty. The commentary used to be made by means of the multi sectoral Ehsaas Value Chain Building Committee (EVCBC) which convened through Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Sania Nishtar. Eight federal ministries and four provincial ministries participated in first assembly of the multi sectoral Ehsaas Value Chain Building Committee.
Participants agreed that issues related to agriculture are complex, and advent of value chains, and private sector funding will assist farmers with fragmented and small land holdings to come out of poverty. During the consultative assembly, all stakeholders and mavens gave detailed input at the main challenges being faced through agriculture sector. It used to be deliberated that although agriculture is the backbone of our economy, however the sector confronts problems at other ranges particularly elite seize, restricted technical capacity, poor consciousness, get admission to to finance constraints, extractive middlemen perpetuating the debt trap, loss of fiscal incentives and lack of a coherent value chain building coverage.
Hence, farm productivity, crop yield, food safety, exports, livelihoods, farmers’ wellbeing are negatively impacted, and poverty is perpetuated. The Committee will convene once more shortly to deliberate on an in depth research to be introduced by means of the IFAD. Poverty in rural areas is deeply connected to agriculture and Pakistan is being faced with distinctive agriculture challenges in particular small landholdings, subsistence farming, exploitation by extractive Aarhtis (middlemen) and stress selling. Unless private sector investment is made in construction rural worth chains, it’ll be tricky to become independent from from the agricultural poverty cycle.
Ehsaas’s multi sectoral Ehsaas Value Chain Building Committee’s various views will assist to form a price chain development policy to deal with these demanding situations. The Ehsaas Value Chain Building Committee was convened by way of Dr. Sania Nishtar, and it brings together expertise and policy affect from the Poverty Alleviation Division, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Revenue an Economic Affairs, Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Planning and Development and Reforms Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Board of Investment, Pakistan Agriculture Research Council, State Bank of Pakistan, National Bank of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue, Agriculture and Livestock departments in all four provinces, GB and AJK, Food and Agriculture Organization, and Pakistan Agriculture, IFAD and Dairy Farmers Association and others stakeholders.
