ISLAMABAD: A high-powered Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) mandated to oversee strategic measures for ensuring food security in the country, held its meeting here under the chairmanship of Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research.
According to a statement issued here on Thursday, addressing the FCA, the Minister said we must enhance domestic agricultural production through the increased productivity per acre.
He said the availability of food commodities in the country is generally satisfactory, adding that affordability remains a major issue for the poor segments of society.
The Minister said Pakistan has immense production potential in agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors, thus averting the challenge of hunger.
However, for sustainable economic growth and prosperity, efficient utilization of production resources by adopting modern technologies, establishing realistic marketing systems, and minimizing trade barriers are of fundamental importance, the Minister said.
He said Pakistan is facing natural crises due to climate change, making the agriculture sector a priority for the government.
To stabilize the food security situation, the Minister said the government is making efforts to assist farmers by providing inputs at affordable prices and ensuring better prices for their produce to bridge the gap between production costs and output prices in favor of farmers.
The Minister said the government envisions enhancing agriculture-based economic growth to benefit the poor and promote nutrition-sensitive practices to reduce various forms of malnutrition.
This includes increasing farm profitability and competitiveness by realizing the existing productivity potential of various crops, livestock, and horticulture, while also creating an enabling environment for investment along the value chain of agricultural products, he added.