Subsidy to benefit rich farmers
The subsidy for the agriculture sector announced by the government in the budget for the current fiscal year aims at increasing farm output but does not attack rural poverty.
July 2007

Textile goods losing domestic market?
WHILE the textile industry continues lobbying for more concessions and incentives - cash subsidies, discount-rated bank loans, cut in utility tariffs etc. - for the third consecutive year, it also wants the government to keep a check.
July 2007

Unreliable wheat output figure upsets Minfal
The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) is facing embarrassment due to unreliable wheat output statistics as some of the policy makers are contesting the production figures of 23.5 million tonnes.
July 2007

Why cotton is a problematic crop?
COTTON, which is also known as ‘white gold’, is an important crop in many developing countries. The yield of the crop is dependent upon the environment in which it is grown and the management practices of the cropping system.
June 2007

Poverty-related projects face closure
The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) total loan commitment to Pakistan since commencement of its operations in 1968 and up to December 31, 2006, comprised 239 public sector loans amounting to $16.3 billion.
June 2007

Erratic wheat policy
In a knee jerk response, the government abruptly suspended wheat export on Wednesday while acknowledging that the open market price of the grain has shot up by seven per cent in spite of a record bumper crop of 23 million tons plus being harvested this season.
May 2007

A need for farmer-friendly wheat policy
EVERY government faces a challenge in selecting an optimum policy to provide food supply to consumers at a reasonable rate and maintaining a nutritional standard.
April 2007

Rust: a disease damaging wheat crop
WHEAT is the major staple food of the people of the country. A large quantity of wheat is grown in the Indus River Valley here. But every year there is shortage of yield because of various factors.
April 2007

A sharp rise in fertiliser prices
AS the Kharif cropping season is set to commence from April 1st, prices of fertilisers have increased creating an unrest among farmers across the country.
March 2007

Farm income tax to be a federal subject!
THE Central Board of Revenue has advised President General Pervez Musharraf that agriculture income tax should be made a federal subject as the provinces have failed to deliver, with annual collection stagnant around Rs2 billion from a sector which contributes over 22 per cent of the gross domestic product(GDP).
March 2007