UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, MNA Rana Afzal Khan, FAP President Tariq Bucha attend roundtable conference on trade liberalization at UAF

Trade between Pakistan and India should be promoted by protecting the rights of stakeholders particularly the growers. It was recommended by the roundtable conference titled “improving economic governance in agri sector through trade liberalization between Pakistan and India” arranged at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad. The recommendation was made by the UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan while Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Pro Chancellor Syed Babar Ali, MNA and Parliamentary Secretary Rana Afzal, Farmers Association Pakistan President Tariq Bucha and other progressive farmers were present on the occasion. While informing the audience about recommendations, the Vice Chancellor suggested the identification of the seasonal window for the commodities. He quoted the examples of potato which had peak season in August and September in India and Pakistan had the peak season in October and November. The conference also recommended that trust deficit between the two countries needs to be bridged through dialogue. The strengthening of the domestic production market was also essential to tap the potential of the sector. The Vice Chancellor said that India was the big market of around one billion of the people. He said the trade with the seasonal window would open up new chapter of progress. He also sough the policy interventions in this regard to flourish the sector in Pakistan. He said India was providing the highest subsidy on the electricity. Even in the Indian Punjab, the subsidy on tubewells was amounting to Rs 1 trillion. Syed Babr Ali said that we need to tap the potential in the flourishing the agricultural sector by promoting the state-of-the-art technologies in the country. He said that China has made tremendous work in the garlic. Our country can do the same. We have to get the benefit from the others experience. He said that the 70 percent of the population is directly or indirectly linked to the agriculture sector that must be strengthened. He also suggested setting up entrepreneurship cell at the UAF in order to equip the youth with the skill and to transform the knowledge into goods and services. MNA Rana Afzal said that the Government was making all-out efforts to strengthen the agri sector in the country. He said that the recommendations to be made before the government. He said that the agriculture is the backbone of our economy, contributing 21 per cent in the Gross Domestic Product. Tariq Bucha urged the government to take the tangible steps to address the issues of the farming community. He said that at least ten percent of the budget must be allocated for the agriculture sector. He said that in the process of trade policy formulation, the farmers must be taken on board. ORIC Director Prof Dr Asif Ali, Dr Abdul Ghafoor, Dr Waseem Ahmad, Dr Mubashair Mehdi, Director Ayub Agriculture Research Institute Dr Abid Mehmood, Aiwan-e-Zarat President Dr Sadique Naseem and others also attended the meeting.