Islamabad, February 9, 2016: Deputy Speaker National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi has said that the economy of Pakistan was concretely based on agricultural production and major chunk of its population directly or indirectly is relied on agronomics. He said that current government was taking various measures to maximize welfare of the farmers. He expressed these views during the briefings on New Agriculture Methods by the delegates from the Australian High Commission to the Members of the Parliament led by Deputy Speaker in Parliament House, today.

While talking to the delegation, Deputy Speaker said that agriculture sector in Pakistan haf been facing constraints related to soil management, irrigation systems, climatic conditions and salinity of surface and groundwater. He appreciated Australian Government’s technical cooperation and assistance in advancing agricultural development in Pakistan. He said that Australia and Pakistan could share useful insights to counter the common challenges related to agriculture sector including inefficiency in water use and low economic returns to the community and the country from irrigation investments.

The Australian delegation expressed its gratitude for the invitation. The visiting delegation was led by Deputy High Commissioner Mr. Jurek Juszczyk. Dr. Evan Christen, Project Manager, Australian Centre for International Agriculture Reseatch (ACIAR) briefed the parliamentarians about Australia’s continuous assistance in agriculture sector in Pakistan initiated in 1980s. He apprised the legislators about legislation in Australian parliament to address the issue of Land cadastral registration creating a balanced and efficient approach in the lessee and lessor rights. He said that recently Agriculture Sector Linkages Program (2005-2015) has been completed in Pakistan with the coordination of experts and research agencies from both the countries. He also informed the parliamentarians that Dairy and Livestock sectors had been agreed as a priority area for future coordination by both the countries. The presentation was followed by Question/Answer Session.

The briefing was attended by MNAS, Malik Ibrar Ahmad, Abdul Majeed Khanan Khel, Babar Nawaz Khan, Ch. Jaffar Iqbal and senior officers from Ministry of Food Security & Agriculture, and Climate Change.