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June
2002
Feudalism prevails as CAF
approved by federal cabinet
The federal cabinet here Wednesday was warned that the
introduction of Corporate Agriculture Farming (CAF) in the
country would result in the revival of the feudalism,
increased poverty and displacement of the small farmers on a
large scale, it is reliably learnt.
Land Reform Act
being amended
ISLAMABAD: The Constitution is being amended to bring about
changes into the Land Reform Act-1977 to do away with the 25
year-old land ceiling clause of 100 acres of land to
accommodate the multinational companies to cultivate thousands
of acres of land in the country, it is learnt.
Agri Bank to provide
$350 million loans
ISLAMABAD (June 22 2002) : The government has negotiated an
Agriculture Sector Programme II Loan of $350 million with the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) for implementation over 5 years.
Agri Bank to
increase women's share in bank's credit by 20 percent
The Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP) will
increase share of women in bank's credit by 20 percent over
next five years.
Agri Bank stops recovery in calamity-hit areas
ADBP has issued instructions to its branches in Sindh to stop
recovery of loans of Rs25,000 from the farmers in the
calamity-hit areas.
Provinces to get Rs 6
billion for drought relief programme
ISLAMABAD (June 23 2002) : The
federal government will provide Rs 6 billion to the provincial
governments for the implementation of the Drought Emergency
Relief Assistance (Dera) programme for 2002-03.
Technology vital to tackle
drought situation
Federal Minister for
Food and Agriculture Khair Muhammad Junejo on Saturday said
the recent drought spell has necessitated the use of efficient
irrigation technology and smart variety of crops with lower
water requirements.
Corporate
farming: President's Advisor opposes leasing land to
multinational companies
The President's Advisor on Agriculture, Shafi Niaz, has
strongly opposed the leasing out of land to the multinational
companies for corporate farming, and cautioned that it would
hurt small farmers' interests.
Edible
oil bill drops by $50m: Local production
Pakistan has achieved
import substitution to the tune of $50 million in edible oil
during 2001-02 as a result of increase in production of
oilseed crops, an official source told Dawn here on Saturday.
PVMA
seeks cut in edible oil customs duty
The Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) has
demanded proportionate reduction in customs duty on imported
edible oil to set off the effect of recent increase in general
sales tax.
Downward
trend in rivers flow
Rivers flow in the country continued downward trend and
registered a 31 per cent drop during the last four days --
from 345,043 cusics on Wednesday last to 238,100 cusics on
Saturday.
Corporate farming policy opposed
The Sustainable Agriculture Action Group (SAAG), an umbrella
organization of 15 civil society bodies working for the rights
of farmers , has expressed concerns over the introduction of
corporate agriculture farming (CAF) in the country.
Growers
unhappy with budget
The representatives of
major growers organisations while commenting on the budget for
the year 2002-2003 have said that it will not leave any
significant impact towards promotion of agriculture sector and
resolution of manifold problems faced by the agriculture
sector of the country.
Rs 157 million more allocated for uplift of
agriculture sector
An allocation of Rs 796.974 million has been made for the
growth of agriculture sector during the fiscal year of
2002-2003.
Agri sector assured of utility charges subsidy,
support price system
While unfolding a six-point plan to protect the stakeholders, Finance
Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday announced in his Budget
speech that agriculture sector would enjoy subsidy on
utilities' charges and the existing support pricing mechanism
during 2002-03, besides getting Rs 116 billion for irrigation
schemes to upset severe water shortage.
PSDP allocates
Rs. 796.974 million for agriculture growth during 2002-2003
ISLAMABAD, Jun 15 (APP): An allocation of Rs. 796.974 Million
has been made for the growth of agriculture sector during the
fiscal year of 2002-2003.
According to annual Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP)
released here Saturday the government has decided to increase
the budgetary allocation from Rs. 640 million (2001-2002) to
Rs. 796.974 million thus showing an increase of Rs. 157
million for the development of Agriculture sector in the next
year.
Farmer bodies show mixed reaction on budget
Representatives of farmers organisations have expressed
dissatisfaction over the budget for removing support price
mechanism for rice and sugarcane crops.
The leaders of farmers organisation including Farmers
Associates Pakistan (FAP), Kissan Board Pakistan (KBP) and
Anjuman Kashtkaran have shown mixed reaction over the federal
budget.
Agri Bank to start Rs 4 billion non-traditional loaning
Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP), with a total
allocation of Rs 4 billion, is going to start non-traditional
loaning for extending credit to the 130 sub-sectors of
agriculture sector, including fisheries, livestock and water
management.
Pakistan calls for 'Alliance' against hunger
ROME (June 13 2002) : Federal
Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Khair Mohammad Junejo
on Wednesday urged the world community to join in an
'Alliance' against hunger to achieve the millennium goal of
reducing number of hungry people by half not later than 2015.
Phutti price fixed at Rs800 per 40kg
ISLAMABAD June 12: The government
has fixed the price of seed cotton (phutti) grade III at Rs800
per 40 kg against the current year's price of Rs780 per 40 kg
and asked the Trading Corporation of Pakistan to maintain this
price level through procurement.
Sindh-Balochistan water row resurfaces
ISLAMABAD, June 12: The differences over the distribution of
water have again surfaced between the Sindh and Balochistan
provinces, with the latter seeking President's indulgence in a
bid to save its Kharif crop from ruining.
WAPDA told to raise Mangla Dam height
ISLAMABAD, June 11: President Gen
Pervez Musharraf has directed the ministry of water and power,
particularly WAPDA, to raise the height of Mangla Dam by 40
feet as early as possible to remove the growing shortage of
water.
Rs
500 million Food Security Programme -II being launched on June
7
ISLAMABAD (June 07 2002) : After a delay of full
one year, the federal government is launching second phase of
much trumpeted Rs 500 million Food Security Programme (FSP-II)
on June 7 across the country and Azad Kashmir.
Pakistan has achieved food security
ISLAMABAD (June 07 2002) : Pakistan has achieved
food security. This is the impression gained by the Chairman
of the ad hoc Public Accounts Committee (PAC), H U Beg,
following the claims made by Food and Agriculture Secretary
Abdul Hafeez Randhawa.
Malaysia to import livestock
KARACHI, June 6: Malaysia will import $0.3
million livestock from Pakistan on monthly basis. The order
was obtained by a trade delegation of Pakistani meat exporters
during a recent visit to Malaysia.
PODB plans olive oil production on mass scale
ISLAMABAD, June 6: Pakistan
Oilseeds Development Board (PODB) has launched a project to
produce olive oil on a mass scale in suitable areas of Punjab,
NWFP and Baluchistan that will go a long way towards reducing
edible oil import bill as well as raising the incomes of
farmers.
'Farmers
to be apprised of world trends'
ISLAMABAD (June 06 2002) :
The government has decided to establish a mechanism to monitor
requirements and new trends of the international market before
sowing of major crops.
Pakistan
to export meat to Malaysia
KARACHI (June 07 2002) : The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) had
sent a trade delegation to meet the exporters of Malaysia from
May 19-25. This was the first ever delegation of meat
exporters sent anywhere in the world by EPB.
Farmers
would not get promised price for sunflower crop
Lahore --- Farmers of the oilseed
crop in country will not able to get the promised price of Rs
650 per 40 Kg for their sunflower crop if the government
allows duty free import of edible oil under the Afghan Transit
Trade (ATT), as suggested by the Ministry of Industries (MoI).
Poultry second major industry after
textile
FAISALABAD–Poultry has emerged as second major industry after
textile in Faisalabad and integrated and collaborated efforts
are needed to strengthen it on scientific lines, said
Professor Dr Riaz Hussain Qureshi Vice-Chancellor University
of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF).
Plan to
improve milk & meat production in Sindh
HYDERABAD-The Directorate of Animal Husbandry Sindh has
launched a programme to improve per capita availability of
milk and meat in the province. The average per capita milk in
Sindh has been recorded at 0,2355 litre while meat comes to
about 17.5 grams, which is the lowest in the country. The
directorate's plan envisages holding of workshops and seminars
in the province to introduce scientific management methods to
increase productivity of livestock, modern methods to control
parasitic diseases affecting production potential of animals.
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