DG KHAN: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday announced that the PTI-led federal government was planning to make Pakistan self-sufficient in food crops, adding that it was necessary to ensure the country’s huge population keeps getting fed.
The premier’s remarks came while he was addressing Kisan Card distribution ceremony in Dera Ismail Khan among the local farmers and the inauguration of the Command Area of Gomal Zam Dam and Pakistan Agriculture Research Council’s Arid Research Stations.
Speaking about the farmers in Pakistan, the premier said they were making money for the first time during the incumbent government’s tenure. “We pressurised sugar mafia to release payments to farmers which they were previously withholding,” he added.
However, he lamented that Pakistan had to import wheat from abroad despite growing a huge amount of food crops. “Pakistan harvested a record wheat crop but we still had to import due to increasing population,” he highlighted.
The premier added that since the country was importing almost every edible, record inflation hit Pakistan as prices of such commodities rose worldwide. “World prices would not have affected us if we utilised the land and water properly and locally produced these items,” he added.
PM Imran reiterated that the country needs to plan for its growing population and added that the current year’s inflation rates were not witnessed during the past two decades.
“From Gomal Zam dam, more than 200,000 acres of land can be cultivated. We have a plan to make 10 dams in ten years,” he said, adding, “We can store about 14 million acre feet (MAF) of water and we are trying to increase it to 25 MAF.”
“We are not utilizing the water properly. We have to calculate how much to use and how to use the water that is left. We also have to use technology to assess which area is most beneficial for a particular crop,” he added.
The Prime Minister expressed his conviction that every crop can be harvested in Pakistan, hence making daily edible items cheaper and readily available. He maintained that the government needs to think about the “next generation and not the next elections”.
“We would also focus on better breeding of cattle. We have a lot of them but they do not produce enough milk and unfortunately, the milk that our children consume is not pure,” he added.
He expressed confidence that Pakistan, especially Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, could witness a revolution in olive production. “Pakistan has the most suitable land for olive cultivation and it will be able to export it to earn foreign exchange,” he added.
PM Imran further said the government was also focusing on primary education and primary health care system to check the population growth. He said it was important to follow the principles of State of Madina to become a great nation.
