Corporate Farming
The Potential of Pakistan Corporate
Agriculture Farming Pakistan’s Agriculture Base: Strengths
Total area |
79.6 Mn Hectares
(MH) |
Cultivated area |
22 MH |
Irrigated |
18 MH |
Rainfed (Barani) |
4 MH |
-
4 seasons, tropical
weather
-
Crop production throughout the
year
-
Largest canal irrigation
network
-
Vast tracts of land along Indus
Basin - comprising 5 rivers
-
Centuries old
farming culture
-
Cost effective and hardworking
agricultural
manpower
-
Low cost irrigation
water
-
Reasonable price of
land
-
Farm to market road
network
-
Competitive cost of
inputs
Wheat |
21 Mn tons |
Cotton
|
11 Mn bales |
Rice |
5 Mn
tons |
Sugarcane |
50 Mn tons |
Fruits/Vegetables |
10 Mn
tons |
Fisheries potential (annual catch) |
7.5 Mn tons |
Buffaloes (Number) |
23
Mn |
Cattle (Number)
|
22 Mn |
Sheep & Goats (Number) |
75 Mn |
Poultry (Number)
|
530
Mn |
-
Located in food deficit region:
-
Principal gateway to CARs
-
Strong historical & traditional links
-
Strong Potential
-
Comparative advantage in the region
-
Vast areas of cultivable waste land available
-
Strong potential for expansion of agriculture base
Corporate
Agriculture Farming (CAF):
Objectives
-
Large
local market increasing at 29% per year
-
Internationally
competitive unit cost of production for all major
crops, fruits & vegetables
-
High
quality agricultural products due to favourable resource base
-
Low
transportation cost, and developed routes to Middle East, Iran,
Afghanistan and CARs
-
International
Quality inputs available in country
-
Market
driven polices. Least Government interventions
Investment
Policy, Incentives & Opportunities:
Most Liberal Investment
Policy:
-
100% foreign equity allowed
-
No minimum foreign investment
-
Remittance of capital, profits, dividends
allowed
-
CAF will enjoy credit & other facilities
-
Local or foreign, private or public limited
companies to invest in corporate farming
-
No ceiling on land holding
-
State land can be purchased, or leased for 50 years,
and extendable for another 49 years
-
All banks and financial institutions will earmark
separate credit share.
Attractive
Fiscal Incentives:
-
0% Customs duty on import of agricultural machinery,
equipment and implements (not manufactured locally) New or used
-
Exemption of duty on transfer of land for CAF (under
consideration)
-
Tax relief: First Year Allowance @ 75% of PME
cost
-
In Addition:
-
Provincial Agriculture Income Tax (AIT) laws provide
for proportionate liability of corporate shareholders
-
Dividends from corporate agricultural farms (for
non-industrial activities) not subject to tax
-
Farm income given more favourable treatment than
non-farm corporate incomes because of the risk/uncertainty associated
with farming
-
Existing definitions of farming activity, as
distinct from processing/industrial activity, continue to be
maintained.
Investment
Opportunities:
-
Land
development/reclamation of barren, desert and hilly land for agriculture
purpose and crops farming
-
Reclamation of
water front areas or creeks
-
Crops, fruits,
vegetables, flowers farming/integrated agriculture (cultivation and
processing of crops)
-
Modernization and
development of irrigation facilities and water management Plantation
-
Forestry
-
Horticulture
-
Dairy farming
-
Livestock farming, breeding and small ruminants
(sheep, goat)
-
Production of quality seeds
-
Fruits, Vegetables & flowers – grading,
processing, packaging, preservation
-
Seafood (farming/fishing, processing and preservation
of fish, shrimps and other marine products)
-
Agri-produce storage facilities (separate
package)
-
Marketing/Export of Agri-produce (separate
package)
-
Cool Chains (separate package)
Source:
Pakistan Board of Investment
|
Pakissan.com;
|