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(GNN) - ISLAMABAD: The board of executive directors of the World Bank (WB) has approved $76.4 million concessionary lending for the Sindh Agricultural Growth Project.
The project is aimed at improving productivity and market access for small and medium producers in important commodity value chains. It will benefit approximately 112,000 farmers covering over 66,000 hectares of land, according to a handout issued by the country office of the Washington-based lending agency. Total cost of the project is $88.7 million.
The project intends to achieve its objectives by investing in knowledge and technology for producers and sub-sectors of crops and livestock, and strengthening public sector institutions to enhance the environment for sustained sector growth, according to the WB.
The credit is financed from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group’s grant and low-interest arm. It will be on standard IDA terms, with a maturity of 25 years, including a grace period of five years.
It is the last planned concessionary lending by the WB as part of its outgoing country partnership strategy. The bank has already approved a new four-year strategy for Pakistan that offers both expensive and cheap credit but is subject to many prior measures.
“The project is envisaged to be a significant investment towards inclusive growth by prioritising support to small and medium-sized producers who are trying to compete in horticulture markets,” said WB Country Director for Pakistan Rachid Benmessaoud.
The plan focuses on small farmers as there is a significant involvement of women in production and processing.
Sindh enjoys greater competitive advantage in these pro-poor production value chains. Capacity building, technical assistance and strategic planning for sector growth will also be provided through this project, said the WB.
The project will focus on horticulture, particularly chillies as 92% of national production is produced in Sindh, onions – one-third of total production comes from Sindh – and dates as the province contributes about half of national production.
Horticulture is largely unregulated, includes more private sector actors than major crops and has received little donor attention in the past, according to the WB documents.
The introduction of good agricultural practices and modest investments in relatively simple technology could substantially increase the quality of production and the potential for increased trade and higher incomes. For instance, chili exports from Pakistan are banned by the European Union due to unacceptable levels of Aflatoxin.
For dates, only 20-30% of the production is in high-value table while 10% of those are Grade-A and 60% are Grade-C dates. A majority of this fruit is dried dates and is mainly exported to India to be used in religious ceremonies, where they are thrown into the Ganges, according to the documents.
Improved tissue culture, orchard management and harvesting practices could increase the production of Grade-A dates, thus increasing income, said the WB.
The project will also promote private sector participation in agricultural development and sector growth through public-private models for agribusiness development and support services. The federal and provincial governments have highlighted commercial agriculture and market linkages as priority investments for the sector, said the WB.
Published in GNN - AIP - Tribune, July 9th, 2014.
The project intends to achieve its objectives by investing in knowledge and technology for producers and sub-sectors of crops and livestock, and strengthening public sector institutions to enhance the environment for sustained sector growth, according to the WB.
The credit is financed from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group’s grant and low-interest arm. It will be on standard IDA terms, with a maturity of 25 years, including a grace period of five years.
It is the last planned concessionary lending by the WB as part of its outgoing country partnership strategy. The bank has already approved a new four-year strategy for Pakistan that offers both expensive and cheap credit but is subject to many prior measures.
“The project is envisaged to be a significant investment towards inclusive growth by prioritising support to small and medium-sized producers who are trying to compete in horticulture markets,” said WB Country Director for Pakistan Rachid Benmessaoud.
The plan focuses on small farmers as there is a significant involvement of women in production and processing.
Sindh enjoys greater competitive advantage in these pro-poor production value chains. Capacity building, technical assistance and strategic planning for sector growth will also be provided through this project, said the WB.
The project will focus on horticulture, particularly chillies as 92% of national production is produced in Sindh, onions – one-third of total production comes from Sindh – and dates as the province contributes about half of national production.
Horticulture is largely unregulated, includes more private sector actors than major crops and has received little donor attention in the past, according to the WB documents.
The introduction of good agricultural practices and modest investments in relatively simple technology could substantially increase the quality of production and the potential for increased trade and higher incomes. For instance, chili exports from Pakistan are banned by the European Union due to unacceptable levels of Aflatoxin.
For dates, only 20-30% of the production is in high-value table while 10% of those are Grade-A and 60% are Grade-C dates. A majority of this fruit is dried dates and is mainly exported to India to be used in religious ceremonies, where they are thrown into the Ganges, according to the documents.
Improved tissue culture, orchard management and harvesting practices could increase the production of Grade-A dates, thus increasing income, said the WB.
The project will also promote private sector participation in agricultural development and sector growth through public-private models for agribusiness development and support services. The federal and provincial governments have highlighted commercial agriculture and market linkages as priority investments for the sector, said the WB.
Published in GNN - AIP - Tribune, July 9th, 2014.
