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Crop Processing Estates in Sindh planned

KARACHI: The Sindh Agriculture Department has planned to establish Agriculture Crop Processing Estates in all the districts of the province to promote cultivation of value added crops. In addition to that an Agriculture Processing Zone is also being set up on 50 acre land area opposite new vegetable market on Super Highway.

"All these agriculture estates will have incentives like that provided to industrial zones across the country," said Hasan Ali Chaniho, Minister for Agriculture, Food, Livestock, Fisheries and Wildlife. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, he said that the farmers will be liable to export 80 per cent of the crop product and may sell rest in the domestic market.

"A team of experts from Spain is due to arrive shortly to provide consultancy service in this regard," said the minister. He said the Agriculture Zone will be the first and unique in South Asia. The minister said that value added crop included specially sugar beet,
mango and Jujube (Ber).

"Sugar beet is highly recoverable crop for sugar as compared to sugarcane, Jujube and mango fruit is much in demand in UAE," he said. Referring to the feasibility of these two crops, he said successful experiments and profits were recorded in NWFP and Sindh provinces by growers. Referring to Pak-American Business Society, he said overseas Pakistani investors now in the US are ready to invest in agro-based industrial projects also.

Outlining the performance of various departments under him, he said the agriculture sector was performing well. This year the department arranged provision of over 0.1 million passbooks for growers who had no passbooks and its availability helped them get loans from Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP) that disbursed Rs5 billion among growers who received passbooks.

The minister said that ban was imposed this season on rice cultivation on Right Bank of River Indus to promote cotton production in Jacobabad, Shikarpur and Larkana districts. "We plan to launch awareness drive from February 15 to achieve a target of production of 4 million bales of cotton in the province," he said.

He said that the wheat cultivated area in Sindh province will be reduced this season by 0.24 million hectares to 0.79 million hectares as against the target of 1.40 million hectares due to shortage of water. "Shortage of water is the major reason while late sowing will also affect the targets," said the minister.

He said the situation will be cleared by February 15 as currently sowing of wheat was underway. Sindh province contributes 41 per cent in rice, 31 per cent in sugarcane, 21 per cent cotton and 14.8 per cent in wheat to national economy. Sindh Cooperative
Department has recovered an amount of Rs120 million so far as against the stuck up loans of Rs960 million during the last few years.

"Field staff of Cooperative Department last year recovered Rs33 million out of which Rs8.6 million were paid towards loan of Sindh government and Rs11.2 million to Federal Bank for Cooperatives," said Hasan Ali Chaniho. He said the provincial government has appointed administrators in Sindh Cooperative Housing Authority to steam the working of the cooperative societies and redress the grievances of the members.

Curtsy The News  January  15, 2002