The Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr. Shaukat Tarin, held a meeting with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Food Security, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, at the Finance Division.

During the meeting, the overall situation regarding the availability of essential food items was discussed.

In his remarks, the Finance Minister reiterated the firm commitment of the Government to provide essential food items at affordable prices to the consumers throughout the country. He also underscored the importance of building strategic reserves of key commodities, namely wheat, sugar, pulses, ghee, tomatoes, onions, and potatoes, to eliminate undue profit margins and to stabilize prices of the items of daily use.

The “Agriculture Transformation Plan” was also discussed, which is being introduced to shift conventional agriculture to the next level, i.e., commercial agriculture aimed at boosting agricultural productivity in the country.

The SAPM outlined that the Agriculture Transformation Plan will promote agri-business, attract investment from the private sector, reduce post-harvest losses, add value to local agricultural produce, develop rural infrastructure and enhance access to microcredit for farmers.

The Finance Minister stressed the need to involve all the relevant stakeholders in the successful implementation of the proposed Agriculture Transformation Plan. He also assured his full support and facilitation at the occasion.

The Finance Minister also desired to utilize the expertise of SAPM on Food Security to effectively control the prices of essential food items regularly to provide maximum relief to the general public.

Source: Pro Pakistani