Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed to prepare a roadmap to increase agricultural exports in the next five years.
He was chairing a meeting of Working Group on Agriculture Reforms in Islamabad today.
The Prime Minister said reforming the agricultural sector and introducing farmers to globally accepted practices is the government’s top priority.
He said federal government, along with provincial governments, is taking measures for the development of agriculture while implementing reforms within its jurisdiction. Steps are being taken to provide farmers with quality seeds, timely fertilizers at reasonable prices and medicines to prevent crop diseases in order to increase per-acre productivity.
Shehbaz Sharif said policy level steps are being taken to produce export worthy products by processing agricultural commodities.
The Prime Minister mentioned that one thousand Pakistani students were recently sent to China at government expense for training in modern agricultural technology.
He noted that our agricultural sector has great potential for development. He said investments are being made in agricultural research to increase per-acre productivity while working within available resources.
Shehbaz Sharif said steps are being taken to increase exports of fisheries, fruits and products derived from them.
He said policy measures should be formulated for palm oil production along the coastal belt.