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RedditFarmers Associates Pakistan (FAP) Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said here Tuesday that growers are going through a serious crisis due to high prices of fertilizers, exploitation of sugarcane growers by the millers and lower prices of different crops including rice and cotton and increasing input prices.He was talking to newsmen after chairing the 119th extra ordinary general body meeting of the FAP.
The meeting was also attended by the FAP President Tariq Bucha, Hussein Jehanian Gardezi, Hamid Malhi, Farooq Bajwa and various other progressive farmers.
FAP Chairman alleged that middlemen in connivance with the state machinery were involved in huge profiteering whereas the government was busy in contempt case and memo scandal.
Nobody was paying heed to the problems of farming community that constituted around 70 percent of the total population, he added.
Farmers were still getting fertiliser at higher rates despite import of urea and subsidy of billion of rupees.He said that the FAP had suggested the government not to impose 16 percent General Sales Tax (GST) on agriculture tractors, but the government did not pay heed to the issue at that time and later reduced it to five percent on collapse of tractors manufacturing industry.FAP chairman said that they also proposed the government not to impose GST on fertilisers and pesticides, but it did not address farmers concerns.
Shortly, they would realise that farmers were right when agriculture production would drop.
Qureshi underscored that there was a need to introduce new technologies and high yielding seeds in agriculture.
Agriculture and industry integration had become necessity to rejuvenate the national economy.
He also expressed his concerns related to agriculture marketing and farm to market access.Speaking about Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, he said Pakistan should enhance trade with regional countries, including India, but the government should consult stakeholders before making any decision.
Earlier commenting on a USAID funded project’s Agri-Business Development Forum’s presentation during the meeting Shah Mehmood Qureshi termed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as one of the biggest mafias.
He also said there had been no bureaucracy in the world like officials of USAID.
He said such financing and encouraging a particular intervention by sponsor had never proved a lasting solution to a problem.
He added that such initiative ultimately proved a futile exercise.FAP chairman said that he knew a right hand of Obama, US President, who was the global chief of USAID, who gave him some commitment to work on certain projects by USAID, but with no development.
Effort should be made to maintain a distance with such agency, he observed.Regulatory Affairs Lead Monsanto Pakistan Muhammad Asim earlier through a presentation highlighted development in the field of genetically modified crops, terming it a major success for improving yield for burgeoning population of world.
In his presentation on New Agricultural Technologies in Corn, he claimed that biotechnology traits and herbicides helped farmers in improving productivity as well as reducing the costs of farming.
He said there was vast potential for improving production of corn in Pakistan due to its rising demand.He said weeds used to compete with corn for water and fertiliser, decreasing the production by 40-60 per cent.
Similarly, he added, no solution of American and Army worm attacking corn plants in local environment.
He claimed that his company’s under trial corn has 100 percent complete solution for curbing insect and weeds.
He stressed the need to allow commercial cultivation of GM corn in Pakistan keeping in view its promising results.Hamid Malhi and Bilal Israel, two participants, however, raised question over toxicity associated with GM seeds and issued related to cross pollination.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi also administered oath to the newly elected ‘District Governors’ of the FAP, an effort by the organisation to come out of the discussion rooms and ensure its liaison with the growers in the field to study their problems and ensure their remedy.
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11:59 am
Mobile technology to boosts farmers income in Pakistan
First I must mention that before I proceed on the subject, I have noticed the Goverment Officials have no
PC or Laptop, even moblie phone number is not given so that they may be of service for the people in general
to be abreast with Modern technology. However Punjab Govt has distriubted 1,00,000 Laptops to students
It is a step which other provinces should follow to enhace education in the country.
The same step be taken by the Agricultural Departments to educate & boost farmers income.
Field Officers can carry their Laptops to to the farmer on their location, to brief them on the spot.
Agriculture is crucial to Pakistan’s economy, as it provides 23% of GDP and employs 66% of the workforce. ( I hope the figures are correct) However, most of poorest people are subsistence farmers who have little or no access no technology and markets for their produce. Farmers lack knowledge on which markets to target and what price to charge.
A solution to this problem.
Farmers were accepting lower prices in order to sell perishable goods
A free SMS/Voice based product calls rural farmers with buyers and provide them with real-time price information via mobile phone. It is described as ‘a basic supply and demand calculator’. Farmers register for updates by calling a toll free number and will then receive three text messages daily from the service. These messages are tailored to the farmer’s crop and location, thus helping them chose the right market to target in order to get the best price.
This service can earn an average of 20% more income thanks to the technology.
Mobile technology has been used increasingly to enhance agricultural productivity. Access to up-to-date market pricing information is essential if farmers are going to increase their profitability, and in turn, increase production rates.
11:24 am
M Radio is mAgriculture to Small-Scale African Farmers
I am a big fan of FM radio. From my days at IESC Geekcorps, I saw how this “old” technology was still impressive in its reach, cost-effectiveness, and simplicity. Less you forget, radio is still the most ubiquitous ICT – beating TV, mobile phones, and Internet penetration by wide margins.
At the same time, much of the work around FM radio is done by a few hard core believers, with newer, flashy technology generating the buzz and getting most of the funding. So I was glad to read Farm Radio International’s latest newsletter about their African Farm Radio Research Initiative.
AFRRI came about when the Gates Foundation challenged Farm Radio International to prove that FM radio still has relevance in the age of mobile phones and Internet access. Yes, you and I may feel that radio still has relevance, but now its proven:
After two cycles of carefully planned and delivered, radio program campaigns involving 25 African radio stations in five countries, the AFRRI project amassed a huge amount of invaluable data. It demonstrates clearly that well-designed and produced radio campaigns using participatory methodologies can have a significant impact on the adoption of improved technologies by small-scale farmers on a large scale throughout the broadcast area of each radio station. The data also demonstrate that such uptake of technologies can be even greater when innovative use of other ICTs, such as mobile phones and the Internet, is combined with the radio broadcasts. We call the methodology we designed and tested a Participatory Radio Campaign (PRC).
Farm Radio International has published 3 reports as part of this study. The first report outlines their use of a newly developed methodology called the Participatory Radio Campaign. The second report presents their analysis of market information services (MIS) and its effectiveness on the radio. The last report presents their results from integrating newer ICTs with radio to create more effective farm radio programs.
I would suggest you read all three, with the last one a great guide for using FM radio in your future ICT4D projects.
http://www.ictworks.org/news/2012/02/17/fm-radio-magriculture-small-scale-african-farmers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Ictworks+%28ICTWorks%29