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Leading agricultural stakeholders in Sindh have criticised Pakistan's federal budget, arguing that it fails to adequately address the challenges facing the agriculture sector despite its importance to the national economy, Dawn reported.
Sindh Chamber of Agriculture Senior Vice President Nabi Bux Sathio said Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had not devoted sufficient attention to agriculture in his budget speech, noting that no major incentive or significant policy measure was announced for the sector, according to Dawn. The report said that Sathio questioned the allocation of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 4.18 billion for agricultural research, saying the government had not clarified which areas would benefit from the funding. He stressed that climate change was posing increasing risks to agriculture and called for investment in climate-resilient, high-yield seed varieties for key crops such as wheat, cotton, rice and sugarcane. Sathio also expressed concern over the growing dependence on hybrid seeds in crops including rice, onion and chilli, warning that excessive reliance on such seeds may not be sustainable in the long term, Dawn reported. He further argued that the PKR 4.18 billion earmarked for research was inadequate to meet the sector's growing needs. Questioning the PKR 7.3 billion allocation for cold storage facilities, Sathio said the government had not clearly explained the nature of the proposed infrastructure and stressed that spending should be linked to transparency, accountability and proper utilisation, Dawn reported. Dawn further reported that Sathio described Pakistan's cotton sector as being in decline, forcing the textile industry to increasingly rely on imported cotton bales. He warned that the country would likely spend significant foreign exchange on importing six to seven million cotton bales again because domestic production had not recovered. Chamber President Mohammad Saleem Memon and Senior Vice President Ahmed Idrees Chohan described the absence of a comprehensive package for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small industries as a major shortcoming, Dawn reported. They noted that SMEs account for a significant share of employment, local production and economic activity, yet the budget did not introduce substantial programmes for low-interest financing, industrial modernisation, technology upgrades or export support. (ANI)
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