Next budget an opportunity to revive agri sector: Asad

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar said that upcoming federal budget as an opportunity to revive the lost momentum of the agriculture sector. He expressed these views during a meeting with the newly appointed Federal Minster for National Food Security, Syed Fakhar Imam, the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiative, Asad Omer and several members of the National Assembly on Wednesday at Parliament House, Islamabad. Asad Qaiser highlighted that a pro-farmer enabling policy environment was critical to make Pakistan’s agriculture sector globally competitive. The Speaker stated that the recommendations of the bipartisan National Assembly Special Committee on Agricultural Products (SCAP) were intended to bring about the fundamental policy shifts in the interest of the farmers and agriculture sector. NA Speaker stated that the agriculture sector requires greater investment packages as the sector is and will remain critical to Pakistan’s national food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods for a foreseeable future. He stated that SCAP would effectively push for protecting the interest of the farmers and agriculture sector; he further added that this commitment will be translated into substantive outcomes in upcoming budget.