Agro-Export Processing Zone for Fruits, Vegetables and Flowers

Lack of effective vegetable export policy, poor marketing planning, inadequate agriculture extension services, lack of coordination between growers and agriculture department officials, are major problems being faced by vegetable growers in Pakistan.

Agriculture sector would continue to under-perform until these problems are resolved, the government should evolve policies and programs to increase export of various vegetables. The Trade Development Authority should explore new markets for export of surplus vegetables and fruits.

Initiatives for value-addition including packaging of vegetables and setting up of storage facilities in rural areas can help reduce losses and generate new employment opportunities, export of fresh vegetables could help stabilize prices in the domestic market.

There is a need for setting up of processing units for value-addition and packaging in vegetable-growing districts. Otherwise growers were bound to face the 2007-like situation when they were forced to sell out their tomato at Rs2-3 per kg, much below their production cost of Rs7 per kg.

Officials in the provincial agriculture department said that the government had taken a number of initiatives to help boost export of vegetables and fruits.

An Rs399 million scheme has been approved for the current fiscal year for establishment of agro-export processing zone for fruits, vegetables and flowers,” said Muhammad Arif Khairi, deputy secretary (technical) Sindh Agriculture Department. He told this scribe that the scheme was pending, awaiting clearance with the provincial P&D department. Once it was cleared, work on the project would start on fast track basis. It would help local firms to export their produce directly.

Food Security in Pakistan: The Current Status and the Way forward

In order to bring a very vital issue in the forefront a study was primarily conducted to prepare a policy paper on the Status of Food Security in Pakistan and A way forward. The paper was presented to the Parliamentarians so it can help evolve a policy on the issue of food security in Pakistan and a way out to address the issue. The study analyzed the reasons of recent global food crises, examining the effects of climate change, the rising food prices, the rise in the global oil prices, biofuel production, shortfall in stocks of food, commodity market speculation and the increasing demand of food in China and India. Our team came to the conclusion the all the above mentioned reasons did play a role in reduction to availability of food in Pakistan, however the recent food crises in Pakistan was mainly due to mismanagement and bad governance. As a result, the following recommendations were presented for food security in Pakistan;
1. There is a need to overhaul the research and market systems
2. There is a need to improve the management of food stocks
3. There is dire need for good governance
4. For the parts of population experiencing chronic and extreme food insecurity, establishing short to medium term social safety nets is essential.
5. In the medium-term, Government of Pakistan needs to focus on improved availability of food at affordable prices
6. Legislators should not only focus on policy and laws that would enhance the production but also on measures to ensure a sustained access to food as well as factors helping in food absorption