The first meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Agriculture and Climate/Flood Emergencies was held today under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal.
The committee, constituted by the Prime Minister with Ahsan Iqbal as convener, opened with a directive to establish three dedicated task forces in consultation with relevant federal ministries and provincial governments.
These task forces have been tasked to prepare detailed reports within 15 days on:
- Immediate agricultural relief and provision of seeds,
- Climate change impacts and resilience strategies,
- Strengthening infrastructure to make it climate-resilient.
The reports will be presented to the Prime Minister for final consideration.
Addressing the meeting, Ahsan Iqbal emphasized that providing short-, medium-, and long-term relief to farmers is the government’s foremost priority. He called for swift action by provincial governments, in partnership with the federal government, to ensure that affected farmers are compensated and supported for the upcoming Rabi season.
The minister highlighted the urgency of supplying canola seeds to farmers within the next 15 days, leveraging soil moisture left by recent floods. He cited a 5,000-acre canola seed pilot project in Narowal, arranged through corporate sponsorship, as an example of the immediate action required.
Iqbal further stated that the time has come to look beyond traditional crops and focus on diversifying towards high-value crops such as canola, which offer higher returns and greater market demand. He also pointed to the importance of extending interest-free loan schemes for farmers and stressed the need to gradually move towards private insurance mechanisms to protect against recurrent climate shocks.
“Climate change is no longer a one-time phenomenon; floods, droughts, and other climate shocks are becoming a permanent feature of our environment. We must, therefore, build a long-term policy framework to ensure food security, resilience, and sustainable growth in our agriculture sector,” Iqbal remarked.
Member Infrastructure Waqas Anwar briefed the committee on its purpose, highlighting that it has been established to formulate, in collaboration with provincial governments, an agricultural support package to provide immediate relief to farmers affected by recent floods.
He further explained that the committee will also design a medium-term package to ensure fair returns to farmers, holistically review the impact of climate change on Pakistan’s productive sectors, particularly agriculture, livestock, agro-based industries, and exports, and develop joint strategies with provincial governments to build resilience and sustainability in these vulnerable sectors.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Climate Change Musaddiq Malik, Federal Minister for Power Awais Leghari, Federal Minister for Housing & Works Mian Riaz Hussain, provincial agriculture and finance ministers, and senior officials from the Planning Commission, Climate Change Division, Water Management, and other relevant departments.