ISLAMABAD: Emphasising promotion of agriculture sector in Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday acknowledged that Israel had made a barren land useful for agriculture by adopting technologically advanced methods.
Addressing the farmers’ convention here, he said, “Pakistan does not accept Israel due to the atrocities it commits against the Palestinians, but we acknowledge how it utilised technologically advanced methods to even make a barren land useful for agriculture. They scratched their heads and came up with a solution to turn even a desert into a fertile land.”
Terming food security the biggest challenge for Pakistan, the prime minister said 40 percent children were suffering from malnutrition. He noted that agriculture was a very important sector to save people from future problems. “We are bringing the programme for the first time and it is related to these issues. When we came to power, we found out that the children were not getting pure milk and various items were being mixed in it. And after that the price of milk went up,” he said.
“After Pakistan went on the wrong path, we have become accustomed to help just like drug addicts. Allah has given us so many opportunities. There are 12 seasons and we can grow anything but we never thought of that,” he continued.
“If we continue like this, then food security will become a big national security issue for us. If 15 or 20% of people of a nation go hungry, then it will be enough to take the nation down. From today, we are deciding that we will no longer have the problem of food security, but we will export food. God has given us countless opportunities and we will be able to grow anything. We have decided not only to help the farmer, but also to do research to find out what can be grown in the area, to include agriculture in the CPEC and to bring in Chinese techniques,” he contended.
Imran said the government was focusing on research and seed development to enhance per acre yield and preserve perishable commodities like fruits and vegetables. “We have large swathes of barren land in Dera Ismail Khan, Cholistan, merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and other parts of the country, which can be utilized for agricultural purposes,” he noted.
Imran said Pakistan had favourable conditions of land and environment for cultivation of olive, avocado and other modern verities. He was hopeful that Pakistan will soon become an exporter of olive oil due to the steps taken by the government to promote olive cultivation in the country.
He also inaugurated an agriculture exhibition on the occasion. Imran said when China eradicated poverty, it had given the most emphasis on small farmers and eradicated poverty in rural areas.
“Similarly, we will also help small farmers, as they do not have the resources. The program of giving loans to farmers has been started and the farmers card programme in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a great scheme under which the farmers will get direct loans,” he emphasised. Imran said 30 percent of our fruits and vegetables are lost due to storage and transportation.
“There are barriers between the farmer and the market, but we will bring new things to remove it and try to make the farmer happy. If we make our farmers happy, then the country's production will increase. I believe Allah made this country for a special purpose and God willing, it will have a great place in the world. If Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal had dreamed of it, they would not have dreamed of a common country,” he maintained. Imran said there would be an ideal state, where there would be justice and an independent country.
“We did not recognize Israel because of its atrocities against the people of Palestine. The weak faced drubbing everywhere and the exploitative segment looted the weak persons everywhere,” he added. However, he noted that by using techniques, Israel had grown so many things in a desert on the basis of research and techniques.
