Karachi
\nThe corporate and financial sector of Pakistan are investing to develop the agriculture sector. This view emerged at the launch of The State of Pakistan\u2019s Agriculture 2024 report by Pakistan Business Council (PBC) and Pakistan Agricultural Coalition (PAC) in an event at National Foods Limited Corporate Head Office in Karachi the other day.
\nEhsan Malik, CEO of PBC, in his opening remarks said that agriculture sector has the greatest potential to contribute to economic and food security and uplift the rural population. \u201cThis report highlights how the corporate sector is playing an impactful role in developing the agriculture sector,\u201d said Ehsan.
\nKazim Saeed, CEO of PAC, said the wherever we see international class agriculture in Pakistan, we often find a leading corporate player working directly with farmers. This report documents how corporate and financial players are bringing capital, technology, and expertise to the agriculture sector for growth and prosperity.
\n\u201cThese prospects merit replication and scaling up for the growth of Pakistan\u2019s agriculture,\u201d said Kazim, adding that many companies are adopting practices that reduce environmental impact, such as regenerative agriculture, eco-friendly production methods, and efficient resource use. The event features presentations by the companies whose projects have been documented as case studies in the report.
\nAbrar Hasan, Global CEO National Foods Limited (NFL), applauded the efforts of PBC and PAC as well as other corporate sector players who are driving the agri sector towards growth. Talking about NFL\u2019s case study, he said that National Foods is committed to self-sufficiency to increase exports as well as digitize farming in Pakistan, ultimately maintaining a robust value chain. Our products and our partnerships are a testament to the positive impact of technology. The \u201cSeed to Table\u201d initiative exemplifies our commitment to growth beyond borders, expanding to international markets as well as enabling the national economy through exports. NFL\u2019s intervention to develop the tomato value chain and create import substitution for tomato paste proved fruitful for the company and the country.\u201d
\n\u201cWe can create potential for exports by developing the value chain for tomato paste, as tomatoes have a high export potential compared to other crops\u201d said Abrar, adding that the NFL intervention presents a strong example of how to respond to the sharp depreciation of the rupee in recent years. Adil Sattar from K&N\u2019s said that over the last six decades, K&N\u2019s has been at the forefront of poultry breeding, the introduction of new technologies in poultry farming, poultry processing, and new approaches in retailing of poultry-based consumer products for domestic and global markets while maintaining food safety and Halal certification by hand slaughtering rather than stunning despite the cost and effort involved.
\nFaraz Zafar, Investment Director AlKaram, talked about what will become Pakistan\u2019s largest shrimp farm. Al-Karam\u2019s Dhabeji Aqua Foods is will be a shrimp farm on 400 acres, which will feature 300 half acre ponds in Sindh\u2019s District Thatta. AlKaram has also invested in companies for cultivation and drone-based services. Faisal Iftikhar, CEO AquaHatch, cited the vision of Garibsons and Jaffer Group for investing in a fish seed and shrimp seed business to support the farmers of high-value fish and shrimp across Pakistan.
\nTaimur Malik of Drawdown Farm by Thal Industries highlighted the importance of regenerative agriculture for protecting Pakistan\u2019s soils, water, and biodiversity.
\nAmer Aziz, CEO HBL Zarai Services spoke about how to harness the corporate sector to serve farmers and M Aminuddin, CEO TPL Insurance, talked about protecting livelihoods of farmers through crop insurance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karachi The corporate and financial sector of Pakistan are investing to develop the agriculture sector. This view emerged at the launch of The State of Pakistan\u2019s Agriculture 2024 report by Pakistan Business Council (PBC) and Pakistan Agricultural Coalition (PAC) in an event at National Foods Limited Corporate Head Office in Karachi the other day. Ehsan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452636,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-452598","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n