Report on
economy: Fix what is wrong with agricultural sector, Policy
Institute report says
By Mohammed Rizwan
LAHORE, May 9, 2012: The government needs to
reconsider its policies and figure out the
factors that have constrained growth in the
agriculture sector in the last four years, a
recently launched report on province’s economy
recommends.
In 2007-11, the average annual growth rate of
agriculture sector in the province has been 2.5
per cent. The figure for rest of the country in
this period is 2.7 per cent.
The report prepared by the Institute of Public
Policy (IPP) at Beaconhouse National University
says services has been the only sector in which
the province has performed (slightly) better
than rest of the country.
The average annual growth
rate of services sector in the province was 5.1 per cent
(over 2007-2011).
The figure for rest of the country is 5 per cent.
The report attributes poor performance in industry at least
partially to electricity and gas shortages.
Overall, it says, the economic performance of the province
during most of the current government’s tenure (2007-11) has
remained poor in comparison to the rest of the country as
well as the province over the previous five-year term
(2002-07).
The average annual growth rate in the Punjab has fallen by
more than half – the growth rate for 2007-11 period is 2.5
per cent and for 2002-07 is 5.6 per cent.
The growth rate for 2007-11 (2.5 per cent) is about 25 per
cent less than the figure for rest of the country – 3.4 per
cent. The report says public investment in the province
during this period has been inadequate. This, it says, is
reflected in the fall in the overall standards of physical
infrastructure.
The province’s share in the national economy has declined to
54.9 per cent from 55.7 per cent share in year 2006-2007.
The per capita gross regional product (gross economic output
of the province) for 2010-11 is estimated at $1,140. This,
the report says, is two per cent lower than the average GRPs
of other provinces for the year.
The report says slow economic growth in the province (in
2007-11) has been accompanied with a decline in its
contribution to the federal revenue.
Courtesy: The Express Tribune