News
Saturday, February 18, 2012
National, int’l firms showcase products at Agri Expo 2012* Machinery, seeds, products put on display at 50 stalls
Staff Report
LAHORE: Pakistan Agri Expo 2012 opened on Friday where agricultural equipment, medicines and other products at 50 stalls of national and international companies are on display.
Agri products ranging from heavy machinery to pesticides, agri literature, fertilisers, edibles were put on display.
American companies and their dealers in Pakistan also established their stalls of food items. USAID, US Department of Commerce, and some Australian companies also exhibited their products.
Around 10 agricultural and dairy related departments of the Punjab government have established their stalls at the expo.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, while attending the expo, said, “If Pakistan has to make progress, we must develop our agriculture sector which is base of the country, and Punjab province bears the most responsibility in this regard as it is the agriculture hub of the country.”
Sharif said that Pakistan is rich in natural and agricultural resources and that by developing its agricultural resources according to international standards we can greatly improve our economy and increase agricultural exports.
He said because of the efforts of the Punjab government, Pakistani agriculture products have been placed in the international agriculture exhibition “Green Week”, which was held in Germany.
He said the Punjab government had placed 21 different Pakistani agri items in the exhibition, which were highly appreciated, because of their quality.
He said that 54 percent of the country’s labour force is associated with agriculture and because of the hard work of our farmers Pakistan is ranked at the 20th place in the world in agriculture production.
Sharif said that if we want to improve our economy we would have to streamline our agriculture sector on modern lines, construct agro-based industrial complexes and provide modern agricultural machinery to the farmers.
He said that Pakistan is rich in natural resources and is the fourth largest milk producing country of the world, third largest in mango exports, fourth in cotton and sugarcane, eigth in rice production and tenth in Kinnow production.
Agro Corporation chief Asad Umar, Fazal Abbas Mekan, Muhammad Abad Khan, Ehsanuddin Ghias, Zahoor Ahmad Malik, representative of UNIDO Ian Golding and others also spoke on the occasion.
US Charge’ d' Affairs, Ambassador Richard Hoagland and Lahore Consul General Nina Maria Fite opened the USA Pavilion at the expo.
Talking to the media after visiting various stalls, Ambassador Hoagland said that the expo centre’s building was really wonderful and various stalls would provide the stakeholders with an opportunity to share information with each other.
In a press statement the ambassador said, “This event will provide farmers, dairy and livestock producers, food processors, agricultural university students, agricultural businesspeople and consumers an opportunity to talk, exchange ideas, and learn more about new farming methods.”
The two-days national agricultural expo provides exhibitors the opportunity to showcase for Pakistani farmers and agribusiness people agricultural technology that can increase crop yields and reduce costs.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk