Balochistan Govt, UN join hands to strengthen agriculture, livestock, fisheries

Wed, 12 Jul 2023, 10:44 PM

ISLAMABAD, Jul 12 (APP):The Government of Balochistan (GoB) joined hands with The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through a Unilateral Trust Fund (UTF) agreement signed at the FAO Office on Wednesday, to mobilize policy support for driving a sectoral development and fostering climate-smart practices in agriculture and fisheries.

The collaboration will be implemented through Gwadar – Lasbela Livelihood Support Project (GLLSP-II), a project financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Florence Rolle, FAO Representative in Pakistan, and Rehmat Dashti, Project Director, GLLSP-II signed the agreement.

Jointly implemented by GoB the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), FAO, and the World Food Programme (WFP), the six-year project aims to promote climate-resilient agriculture and livestock farming systems, empower smallholder with knowledge and skills and enable them to build better resilience.

FAO will provide technical assistance to the project, which will employ the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach. Through FFS, the project seeks to create an inclusive learning environment that fosters knowledge sharing and skill development among farmers. GLLSP II is committed to promoting gender equality and youth engagement, ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to benefit from the program. The project will also provide policy support to create enabling condition in the fisheries sector, which will benefit 100,000 rural households in Gwadar and Lasbela districts.

“Our aim is to train 30,000 farmers and provide them with in-situ demonstrations. Through this collaboration, the project aims to obtain technical assistance for various aspects such as Training of Trainers (ToT), curricula development, and training for small-holder farmers to enhance their capacities on climate resilience Through interactive sessions and hands-on experiences, participants will gain invaluable insights, enabling them to adopt modern techniques and improve their farming practices,” said Rehmat Dashti.

Florence Rolle, FAO Representative in Pakistan, emphasized FAO’s commitment to promoting sustainable agricultural practices and improving the resilience of vulnerable rural households. She said, “GLLSP-II reflects FAO’s dedication to supporting sustainable agriculture practices. “We believe that our partnership with the Government of Balochistan, NRSP, and IFAD will bring about positive changes in the lives of farmers, livestock keepers, and fishing communities, ultimately contributing to food security and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” she added.

“Targeted support in sectoral development in agriculture is essential as it equips us with the knowledge, expertise, and innovative solutions for addressing the ever-evolving challenges in our agricultural systems. When we can increase productivity, promote sustainable practices, and build resilient communities, we pave the way for a thriving and food-secure future. And by uniting our efforts within the Rome Based Agencies, sharing expertise, and aligning resources, we can achieve results in transforming rural lives,” said Arnoud Hameleers, IFAD Country Director for Pakistan.

FAO Pakistan has extensive expertise in addressing climate change, farmer field schools, and farmer business schools, making it a key player in developing and implementing innovative strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change on agriculture.

Through its programmes across Pakistan, FAO has successfully promoted sustainable farming practices, resilient agricultural systems, and the adoption of climate-smart technologies. The organization’s Farmer Field Schools serve as crucial platforms for knowledge exchange and capacity building, empowering farmers with practical skills and techniques to improve productivity and resilience. Moreover, FAO’s farmer business schools equip farmers with essential entrepreneurial skills, enabling effective farm management, market access, and income generation.

FAO Pakistan has also actively supported interventions to enhance the livestock sector, focusing on production, health, and management. By leveraging its comparative advantage, FAO, through GLSPP-II, remains at the forefront of driving sustainable development in the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors.

IFAD is investing in in rural development through five ongoing projects in Pakistan spread across the country. IFAD works closely with the government, local communities, and other partners to address the specific needs and challenges faced by smallholder farmers and vulnerable groups in ensuring sustainable agriculture, natural resource management, rural infrastructure, access to assets, and financial services. Read more about IFAD’s work in Pakistan.

IMF Board approves Stand-by Agreement of $3 bln for Pakistan

Muhammad Ashraf Wani

Wed, 12 Jul 2023, 10:38 PM

IMF Board approves Stand-by Agreement of $3 bln for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Jul 12 (APP): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board on Wednesday approved the Stand-by Agreement (SBA) for US$ 3 billion for Pakistan, according to press statement issued by the fund.

The staff level agreement on SBA amounting Special Drawing Rights (SDR) 2,250 million (about $3 billion or 111 percent of Pakistan’s IMF quota) was reached during the last week of June after IMF staff team led by Nathan Porter held in person and virtual meetings with the Pakistani authorities to discuss a new financing engagement for Pakistan under the arrangement.

The new SBA builds on the authorities’ efforts under Pakistan’s 2019 Extended Fund Facility supported program, which was due to expire in end-June.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mohammad Ishaq Dar also shared the news about the development through his tweeter account.

With the approval of Stand-By Agreement by the IMF board, the country’s foreign exchange reserves would be more strengthened. Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have already deposited $2 and $1 billion respectively with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), boosting the total foreign exchange reserves upto over $12.7 billion so far.

According to statement issued by IMF, the arrangement comes at a challenging economic juncture for Pakistan. A difficult external environment, devastating floods, and policy missteps have led to large fiscal and external deficits, rising inflation, and eroded reserve buffers in FY23.

Pakistan’s new SBA-supported program will provide a policy anchor for addressing domestic and external imbalances and a framework for financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners.

The program will focus on (1) implementation of the FY24 budget to facilitate Pakistan’s needed fiscal adjustment and ensure debt sustainability, while protecting critical social spending; (2) a return to a market-determined exchange rate and proper FX market functioning to absorb external shocks and eliminate FX shortages; (3) an appropriately tight monetary policy aimed at disinflation; and (4) further progress on structural reforms, particularly with regard to energy sector viability, SOE governance, and climate resilience.

The Executive Board’s approval allows for an immediate disbursement of SDR894 million (or about US$1.2 billion). The remaining amount will be phased over the program’s duration, subject to two quarterly reviews.

Following the Executive Board discussion, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director and Chair said in a statement that Pakistan’s economy was hit hard by significant shocks last year, notably the spillovers from the severe impacts of floods, the large volatility in commodity prices, and the tightening of external and domestic financing conditions.

“These factors together with uneven policy implementation under the EFF combined to halt the post-pandemic recovery, sharply increase inflation, and significantly depleted internal and external buffers. The authorities’ new Stand-By Arrangement, implemented faithfully, offers Pakistan an opportunity to regain macroeconomic stability and address these imbalances through consistent policy implementation,” Georgieva said.

She said, the FY24 budget, which targets a modest primary surplus, was a welcome step toward fiscal stabilization. The anticipated improvement in tax revenues is critical to strengthen public finances, and to eventually create the fiscal space needed to bolster social and development spending.

Maintaining discipline over non-critical primary expenditure will be essential to support budget execution within the envisaged envelope.

In parallel, the authorities urgently need to strengthen energy sector viability by aligning tariffs with costs, reforming the sectors cost base, and better-targeting power subsidies.

Looking beyond this fiscal year, enhanced efforts to expand the tax base and improve public financial management, including in the delivery of quality infrastructure, are needed and increase progressivity and efficiency.”

The recent increase in the policy rate by the SBP is appropriate given the very high inflationary pressures, which disproportionately impact the most vulnerable, Georgieva said adding a continued tight, proactive, and data-driven monetary policy is warranted going forward.

A market-determined exchange rate is also critical to absorbing external shocks, reducing external imbalances, and restoring growth, competitiveness, and buffers. Close oversight of the banking system and decisive action to address undercapitalized financial institutions would support financial stability, she added.

She said, accelerating structural reforms to build climate resilience, enhance safety nets, strengthen governance, including of state-owned enterprises, and improve the business environment by creating a level-playing-field for investment and trade were necessary for job creation and raising inclusive growth.

Meanwhile, talking to a private media, finance minister said things were moving in right direction and towards economic stabilization. He said, the incumbent government had to take many measures to bridge the trust deficit with IMF that was created due to wrong policies of the previous regime. He said, it would be our utmost preference to complete this programme for the second time in history.

Israel has no right to lecture Pakistan on HR: Musadik Malik

NNPS Desk

Wed, 12 Jul 2023, 10:32 PM

Israel has no right to lecture Pakistan on HR: Musadik Malik

ISLAMABAD, Jul 12 (APP): Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik on Wednesday said Israel had no right to lecture any country on human rights violations as it was itself involved in the genocide of thousands of innocent Palestinians.

“Israel’s comments in favour of the PTI have raised eyebrows. It is pertinent to understand, who is saying what and why?” the minister said while addressing a press conference here.

He said that the comments of Israel regarding human rights violations in Pakistan were tantamount to defending the desecration of the country’s martyrs who laid their lives for the defence of their beloved country.

Israel which was the symbol of barbarianism in the world had intervened in the internal matters of Pakistan for the very first time, the minister said and further questioned, “Why did Israel think about human rights violations in Pakistan after May 9?”

It was surprising that Israel’s comments come in favour of PTI, a party, which instigated, planned and carried out violent attacks against state institutions and buildings on May 9, he said.

Israel’s narrative on human rights violations regarding Pakistan on international fora was an attempt to make an impression that the arsons of May 9 were just an internal political matter of the country, Musadik Said.

“If their own people flare the government buildings and desecrate the statues of martyrs in their country and the government takes action against them, would it be a violation of human rights or just a political matter,” the minister added.

He said the nation had to understand why Israel was defending the criminal act of the miscreants of a certain political party which attacked the core commander’s house and the defence establishments of the country.

The minister made it clear that only the actual perpetrators of the May 9 incident would be penalized as per the constitution of the country after the complete investigation and it would not be a human rights violation.

He urged all political parties that to limit politics only to the sphere of politics and not make it personal.

Responding to a question, the minister said the experiment of importing oil from Russia was a great success which would reap profit in the coming days.

“Masses are not getting immediate relief due to the high price of dollars as we buy oil in dollars and sale in rupees at petrol pumps,” he added.

Musadik Malik said that as soon as more oil in large quantity would be imported from Russia, oil prices would come down and huge relief would be given to the masses.

Furthermore, he said agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan regarding petroleum products were in the process of finalization which would help to meet the energy needs of the country.