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       ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Food Sec-urity has decided to shift the focus of its projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to information technology and technological innovation.

       Secretary Waseem Ajmal Chaud-hry informed the Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research on Monday that the ministry was helping farmers using tube-wells to switch to solar energy.

       But he admitted that progress had not been up to the mark and the execution of projects was quite slow.

       “Despite these challenges, the ministry remains committed to achieving its targets by June,” he said.

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       Ajmal Chaudhry briefed the committee about the PSDP for 2024-25, stating that the ministry had 26 projects on its hands, 11 of which were related to the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (Parc).

       An amount of Rs9.9 billion has been allocated for these projects, while the total project cost is estimated at Rs201bn.

       The ministry reported that a model farm had been developed in Pind Dadan Khan and there were plans to establish a seed hatchery to ramp up seed production.

       Discussing the budgetary proposals for 2025-26, officials stated that the projects aimed to increase productivity and attract investment from the private sector in agriculture.

       Senator Syed Masroor Ahsan, the parliamentary committee’s chairman, warned of the emerging threat from climate change particularly its impact on food security, regretting that the government had paid no heed to the private sector’s concerns in this regard.

       Senator Ahsan wondered why neighbouring countries were ahead of Pakistan in agricultural productivity. He said there was an urgent need to improve seed quality to ensure self-sufficiency in food production.

       When the senator raised private sector’s concerns over the establishment of a new authority for the fruit and vegetable industry, the ministry officials replied that the proposed authority would promote the use of digital technology to boost productivity in the agriculture sector.

       Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2025