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Corporate farming;
Foreign, local investors to get state land
LAHORE: The federal government
has entrusted the task to the Commerce Minister, Abdul Razzak
Dawood to collect details of the state land from all the four
provinces to be given under corporate agriculture farming (CAF).
Sources told The News that the step had been taken to speed up
the process of allotment of land to both foreign and local
investors for CAF all over the country. The government had
come to know that a number of local and foreign investors were
interested in investing in the agriculture and livestock
sectors.
The sources said Prince Sultan of Saudi Arabia had expressed
his desire to go for livestock breeding in Pakistan a few
months ago and instructed his business managers to compile
comprehensive feasibility reports in this regard. The
Balochistan government has reportedly offered free land to the
Saudi prince. What makes the government even more keen to go
ahead with these plans is the fact that there is great
potential for Pakistan's farm and livestock products in
markets like Gulf and Saudi Arabia.
The potential to export sacrificial animals to Saudi Arabia,
for example, on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha is tremendous but
the resource is still untapped. The government has already
directed the provincial governments to submit complete details
of the state land which could be used for the purpose and that
should not be less than 50 acres.
After the process, the federal commerce minister would call a
meeting of all the provincial ministers of revenue and
agriculture and other officials to decide the future line of
action and devise a plan for distribution of the land as early
as possible, the sources said.
They said the government had already received several
applications for corporate farming from local and foreign
investors. Majority of the foreign investors had local
partners but they did not have more than 40 per cent shares.
The government has decided not to entertain any application of
a foreign investor or a company which does not have 40 per
cent share of a local investor, the sources added.
July 24
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