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Farm bank in
private sector suggested
KARACHI - The Governor of Sindh Mohammedmian Soomro on Tuesday
suggested that an agriculture bank in private sector be
established to supplement government efforts for increasing
farm production of all major cash crops.
Speaking as a chief guest at a seminar on 'Rice from sowing to
export' organized by the Rice Exporters Association of
Pakistan (REAP), the governor said presently Rs40 billion are
being given to agriculture sector from the banking system
which remains insufficient.
Due to rising cost of input and need to adopt modern
techniques the financial needs which stands upto Rs100 billion
of agriculture sector, the governor said, are not being fully
met. Similarly, he said to avoid losses to any segment of
trade, including growers farm insurance system be introduced
like the cooperative societies.
Soomro stressed upon all the stakeholders to realize that
their survival depend on each other and no single sector could
benefit by out manoeuvring the others. However, the governor
said it is heartening to see that all the stakeholders in rice
crop are presently assembled under one roof which had been his
dream to witness such relationship and inter action among
various interest groups.
Soomro called upon the millers to modernize their processing
units and should adopt new techniques and similarly suggested
to the growers to improve their per acre yield which is
presently amongst the lowest in the world.
Referring to marketing of goods the governor said it is not a
simple task and needs all the salesman skills to sell your
products, therefore, he urged upon the exporters to adopt
rapidly changing methods of marketing and presentation.
By simplifying carrying a bag of rice and display it at any
trade fair will not now give results, he maintained and said
new presentation methods be immediately adopt to increase
exports.
Soomro took serious note of a complain lodged by the president
Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, Qamar-ur-Zaman Shah, that some
exporters after buying huge quantity of rice disappeared
resulting in financial loss to the tune of Rs10 million to the
growers.
Nevertheless, the governor said, in open market system one has
to judge that why the buyer is giving 5 to 10 per cent higher
price than the prevailing market price. He said it is always
greed which put a man into financial crisis.
He called upon the rice scientists to evolve rice varieties
and rice technologies which are in accordance with the latest
developments like water shortages, delay in water arrivals,
demand of better grain quality in international market, less
susceptibility to pest attack.
Use of agriculture machinery, like rice transplanters,
combined harvesters, rice bed ridgers etc., should be promoted
and cheaper versions of these machines may be developed for
adoption by all rice growers.
Since rice exporters, Soomro said, are the main beneficiaries
from the crop they should come forward for assisting in
development of the rice crop on modern lines.
The governor said assistance is required in laying out of
demonstration plots of modern rice cultivation techniques in
rice growing areas, promotion of latest harvest and post
harvest techniques, development of modern rice milling and
processing as well as creation of awareness among rice farmers
and rice millers through electronic media, particularly
television be launched.
He suggested to the rice growers to take up agriculture as
business, adopt scientific methods of cultivation, harvesting
and post-harvesting and added that quality of rice is greatly
affected by faulty methods of harvesting and threshing, which
should be improved. The growers, he said should concentrate on
increasing yield per acre and invest in the land so that they
can earn more.
courtesy Daily Dawn, 3
April, 2002
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Pakissan.com;
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