Government to set up marketing, processing infrastructure for agriculture products

FAISALABAD (July 18 2009): The Federal Government has decided to establish Agricultural Products Marketing and Processing Infrastructure on the basis of the experience of world's best infrastructure holding agriculture marketing countries.

According to Planning Commission sources, this project aims at providing food security, ensuring farmer's profitability, reduction of post-harvest loses, and access to premium national and international markets by integration of value chain system of farms' inputs, outputs and finance and implementation of quality standards. The proposed investment would be divided into three major areas of farm supplies and services, grain infrastructure, and perishables infrastructure

Five agro-industrial parks for Balochistan

QUETTA (July 18 2009): Minister for Industries and Production Mian Manzoor Ahmed Watto has said that the federal government would invest over 60 per cent of the total allocations made in the Balochistan budget for the promotion of trade and industry.

Speaking at a press conference after a brief visit to Quetta on Friday he said that the decision had been taken to develop industries and promote trade in the province

Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, federal ministers Ayatullah Durrani, Mir Humayun Aziz Kurd and Balochistan Industry Minister Syed Ehsan Shah were also present on the occasion.

Bio-Fertilizers better source for protection and production of crops

In order to increase crop production for fulfillment of malnutrition requirements of the day by day increasing population, the systems is relying exclusively on the use of chemical fertilizers. Whereas, it is also proved that use of chemical fertilizers and other pesticides has caused tremendous harm to the environment by pollution and contamination in water and soil and common men are suffering by many means, because of the situation. Therefore, increase in population, environmental pollution, contamination in water and soil is the major concerns in today's world and there is a reason to search for alternative methods of increasing plant production in an eco-friendly manner, the adequate management of natural, renewable resources and the reduction of chemical inputs.

Indigenisation of fertiliser machinery and equipment

Pakistan fertiliser industry is well established and based on advanced technology with an investment of Rs87 billion, providing employment to about 7,600 persons.

Of the 10 units in operation, eight in private sector including those privatised recently and two in public sector that too are in advanced stage of divestment.

The sector has an annual installed capacity of 5,753,000 tons of a wide variety of fertilisers. These include urea, nitrogenous phosphoric potassium (NPK), single super phosphate (SSP), triple super phosphate (TSP), nitrogen phosphate (NP), calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), diammonium phosphate (DAP) and others.

In response to the Fertilizer Policy 2001 that extends numerous fiscal and financial benefits to investors, a number of units have carried out major balancing, modernisation, rehabilitation and expansion (BMRE) during the last few years

Malaysian companies invited to build small, medium dams

LAHORE (July 18 2009): The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has invited Malaysian Companies to constructs 32 small/medium dams in Pakistan. The Member (Water) Wapda, in a letter addressed to the Pakistan High Commission in Malaysia, had invited the Malaysian Companies having experience in building Dams to build 13 Dams in the Phase-I in various parts of Pakistan, either alone, or as joint ventures with local and international investors and contractors.

The letter further stated that the dam reservoirs structures would be financed and constructed by private sponsors/investors through the due process who would provides 80 percent of the financing. According to Member Wapda, the land for the dams, reservoir/structures would be acquired and the Government of Pakistan will finance the cost. The land would be leased to the private investors for 25 years, which would be extendable on mutually agreed terms.

India boosts defence, agriculture spending

NEW DELHI: India’s finance minister targeted a return to 9.0 per cent economic growth ‘at the earliest’ in a budget speech on Monday that suggested the country had

seen off the

worst of the

global financial

crisis.

But in announcing increased funding for farmers and poverty alleviation programs, Pranab Mukherjee also warned that India’s soaring fiscal deficit would continue to grow in 2009-10 to 6.8 per cent of GDP.

The estimate was far higher than the 5.5 per cent put forward by the government in an interim, pre-election budget in February.

The initial stock market reaction however was extremely negative, with the benchmark 30-share Sensex falling 659.55 points or 4.42 per cent to 14,253.3 in intra-day trading.

The deficit had ballooned to 6.2 per cent in the year to March 2009 – more than double the government’s target of 2.5 per cent and the highest in nearly two decades.

‘The first challenge is to lead the economy back to the high growth rate of 9.0 per cent per annum at the earliest,’ Mukherjee told parliament as he presented the 2009-10 budget.

‘The second challenge is to deepen and broaden the agenda for inclusive development,’ he said