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Rice board as
separate entity planned
ISLAMABAD, March 19: Federal Minister for Commerce, Abdul
Razak Dawood on Tuesday said that to capture the international
rice market and ensure greater rice production, a proposal is
under active consideration to establish "Pakistan Rice Board"
as a separate entity , which will be run by private and public
sector.
The minister was meeting the representatives of Rice Export
Association of Pakistan (REAP). He said the ministry of
commerce will prepare a draft blue print for setting up this
board under a resolution to be adopted by a government. He
said that it has also been proposed that board should have a
major share of representatives from private sector and a few
from public sector.
Mr Dawood said that this board will be a statutory body
comprising all stakeholders encompassing rice farmers,
millers, exporters, research and development institutions and
representatives from federal and provincial governments.
He said that main objective of this board would be to
integrate all efforts of all these organs and chanalize them
in line with the national export strategy. The government
support and backing will be made available to achieve focused
research, rice quality standards, export targets and ensure
market driven policies.
Mr Dawood said that this board initially can start as lean
organization, with specific functions and can expand its scope
of gradually. He was of the view that good governance demanded
that government should act as facilitator and allow the
private sector to steer business activities. He particularly
mentioned efforts being made by Export Promotion Bureau, R&D
institutions, Commerce Ministry and Private sector but
regretted that as a nation we are not getting the required
"leverage" of all this effort and it needs integrated effort
to achieve maximum benefit.
This board will provide a professional platform, and a
reservoir of information and will also look into human
resource body looking at export strength, development in the
rice sector. The meeting also agreed that the board will take
up developing of the rice vision.
The minister was hopeful that with proper function of this
board it will stay the institutional arrangement for process
of the rice sector, by having all the stakeholders on one
platform. Functioning of the board will also be discussed with
provincial governments before its final shape is developed.
The chairman, Export Promotion Bureau, Tariq Ikram and senior
officials of the Ministry of Commerce were also present in the
meeting.
Courtesy Dawn March
22, 2002
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Pakissan.com;
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