US Ambassador for supporting agri sector

ISLAMABAD, Sept 30 (APP): The US Ambassador Robin Raphel here on Thursday reiterated the US support for the development of agriculture sector in Pakistan. A high level USAID delegation led by Ambassador Robin Raphel visited Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) and met with its president Muhammad Zaka.A comprehensive presentation was made by ZTBL to the delegation in which role of agriculture sector in the country’s economy was highlighted.

ZTBL President Zaka Ashraf explained the specialized role of the bank in the agriculture sector, which was the only institution playing a vital role by providing a combination of technology alongwith credit for enhancing the agriculture productivity in Pakistan. 

He informed that ZTBL has an extensive outreach through its country wide network of 353 branches and over 1300 MCOs contributing towards helping the small farmers even in the remote areas.
Zaka Ashraf appreciated the role of the US government and particularly USAID in assisting the development of the agriculture sector of the country.
The delegation was also briefed about the restructuring and revamping of the bank with particular reference on introducing new technologies and initiatives diversifying sectoral exposure and meeting the supply demand credit gap of over 430 billion.
The model of private public partnership and collaboration with international agencies was shared with the delegation.
The potential areas of cooperation between USAID and ZTBL were also discussed at length especially in view of the present situation in the agriculture sector caused by floods.

The delegation was also briefed on the initiatives like  soil improvement, seed development, water conservation (Drip Irrigation, Sprinkler irrigation), horticulture, orchards development, tunnel farming, livestock development, which need to be taken on fast track basis to increase agriculture productivity. 

The US Ambassador appreciated the commendable job carried out by ZTBL for transforming Pakistan’s agriculture and efforts made by ZTBL in taking a pro-active role towards agricultural development through introduction of new technologies.

She discussed the damages caused by current flood disaster in Pakistan and the possible role ZTBL can undertake to alleviate this situation.

Rice Prices `Worrisome' as Global Supplies Tightening, Biggest Buyer Says

Rice prices are becoming “worrisome” as global supplies tighten because of crop losses in some of the largest exporters, according to an official in the Philippines, the world’s biggest buyer. 

The global supply-and-demand balance is “not at the 2008 level yet, but it’s pretty worrisome because of the prices,” Lito Banayo, head of the National Food Authority, which handles state rice purchases in the Philippines, said in an interview in Manila yesterday.

The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization’s global Food Price Index surged in August to the highest level since September 2008 as wheat and rice prices advanced after Russia, the world’s third-largest wheat grower last year, banned exports and flooding in Pakistan damaged rice crops, curbing supplies of Asia’s two main staple grains.

The FAO pared its estimate for global rice production on Sept. 1 for the second time since April as lower water levels in the Mekong River curbed yields in Thailand and Vietnam, the world’s two biggest exporters, and flooding slashed the harvest in Pakistan, the third-largest shipper.

The agency’s Rice Price Index, which tracks 16 export prices around the world, climbed to a five-month high of 215 points in August.

“We feel the market could be subject to a supply crunch,” Jonathan Barratt, managing director at Commodity Broking Services Pty. in Sydney, said in an e-mail to Bloomberg News today. “Already we have seen a strong movement in rough rice” prices, he said.

Thai Prices

Rice futures advanced to a record $25.07 per 100 pounds in Chicago in April 2008 as exporting countries including India and Vietnam restricted shipments, adding to concerns about a global food shortage that sparked riots from Haiti to Egypt. The Thai export price, the benchmark for Asia, surged to an all-time high of $1,038 a metric ton a month later.

Futures in Chicago have gained 23 percent since slumping to the lowest in almost four years in June. The December-delivery contract traded at $11.685 at 11:18 a.m. in Singapore.

The Thai export price may rise to $525 a ton in October, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 10 exporters and traders last month, as supply tightens ahead of the country’s harvest, which has been delayed because of drought. The price, updated weekly by the Thai Rice Exporters Association, climbed to a five-month high of $495 a ton yesterday.

The FAO cut its rice production forecast for this year to 467 million tons on Sept. 1, compared with 474 million tons in April, and 472 million tons in a June report.

Pakistan Losses

Crop losses in Pakistan “could negatively affect the rice trade,” the FAO said. The agency reduced its forecast for next year’s global exports to 29 million tons, from an estimated 30 million tons this year.

Exports from Pakistan may slump as much as 35 percent to 3 million tons in the year that began July 1, from 4.6 million tons a year earlier, after the deadliest flood in the nation’s history destroyed crops, Malik Jahangir, chairman of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, said Sept. 1.

Shipments from India of basmati rice, which is at least twice as expensive as the regular variety, may surge by about 22 percent after the floods in Pakistan, Anil Mittal, chairman of KRBL Ltd., the country’s biggest exporter, said yesterday.

“Timing of when to buy is important” for the Philippines, Banayo said. The country’s government is still “validating” production figures to gauge the volume of rice it needs to purchase for 2011, he said.

Supply in the Philippines may tighten after drought caused by El Nino delayed planting. The nation’s main harvest, which typically begins mid-September, may be delayed by at least a month, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said in July.

Drought may cut rough rice production in the Philippines by 15.2 percent to 9.24 million tons in the first nine months of the year, compared with the same period last year, according to a July report by the nation’s Bureau of Agricultural Statistics.

To contact the reporters on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net Cecilia Yap in Manila at cyap19@bloomberg.net

Donors' response to Pakistan agricultural needs very low: FAO

UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said that so far donor response to Pakistan's agricultural needs after the devastating flood has been very low. Only 35 percent (2 million dollars) of initial funding requirement have been met under the Pakistan Initial Floods Emergency Response Plan (PIFERP).

FAO is reaching approximately 1,50,000 families with agricultural inputs and 50,000 households with emergency livestock assistance in flood affected districts across the country. It said with additional funding of 30 million dollars FAO could assist a further 2,50,000 families with wheat seeds and help keep at least 1,00,000 families' livestock alive over the coming winter.

In its Executive Brief on Pakistan Flooding, as on September 1, 2010 FAO said approximately four out of five people in the flood affected areas depend on agriculture for their livelihood. One of the greatest challenges on the ground is helping farmers to recover their land in time for wheat planting beginning in September/October and to prevent further livestock losses.

The UN organisation said across the country millions of people their entire means to sustain themselves in the immediate and longer-term, owing to the destruction/damage of standing crops and means of agricultural production (eg seed stocks, irrigation, livestock, farmland)

The latest cumulative estimates are as follows:

(a) The agriculture cluster rapid damage assessments, completed in half of all flood-affected districts found that 1.3 million hectares of standing crops have been damaged.

(b) Countrywide damage to millions of hectares of cultivatable land, including standing crops (eg rice, maize, cotton, sugarcane, orchards and vegetables) likely.

(c) Loss of 0.5 to 06 million tons of wheat stock needed for the wheat-planting season.

(d) Death of 1.2 million large and small animals and 6 million poultry.

FAO said while the full extent of the damage still cannot be quantified and assessments are ongoing, the direct and future losses are likely to affect millions of people at household level, as well as impact national productive capacity for staple crops, such as wheat and rice. Response to needs in the agriculture sector cannot be underestimated nor delayed.

Wheat planting season: FAO said if wheat seeds, fertilisers and farming tools are not provided rapidly, many farmers will miss this year's wheat planting season, beginning in September/October and may not be able to harvest wheat again until spring 2012.

It further stated that extensive water logging, silt deposits and damage to irrigation structures mean that work must start now to clear and prepare the soil for planting and to repair water systems for upcoming planting seasons. This planting season is vital as wheat is Pakistan's main staple crop, accounts for two thirds of national cereal production (planted on 9.5 million hectors in 2009 yielding 24.5 million tons) and provides 60 percent of the carbohydrate and protein requirement for an average Pakistani.

Saving remaining livestock, FAO said it is also concerned with preventing the further loss of livestock, which represent an immediate source of food, income, draught power and very often the savings of a lifetime. Without emergency, dewormers and veterinary supplies animals will die in large numbers, it warned.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2010

Pakistan Web Awards 2010 - Promoting Digital Economy

First ever “Pakistan Web Awards” are being organized by “The Xeptionalz”, patronized by “Ministry of Information Technology, Government of Sindh”.

We believe that it is the time to recognize and understand that there are both un-tapped global opportunities in the Digital Economy as well as risks of not participating. To exploit the potential benefits of the digital economy to their full extent, we will have to improve our WWW appearance and encourage more ICT innovation. Hence, Pakistan's digital economy needs to grow in strength, spread throughout all sectors of the economy and reach into all areas of the lives.

The initiative has been taken up with an aim to bring forth and acknowledge the ICT talent of our country by providing them a platform to showcase their best potential. This Event is not just a competition but an effort to prominently place Pakistan on the IT World map as a competitive destination for outsourcing Projects and a strong digital economy.

Angelina Jolie, Ewan McGregor appeal for Pakistan flood victims

United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie and United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) Ambassador Ewan McGregor have filmed videos in which they call on the international community to donate to Pakistan.

On August 31, Jolie filmed a video message in which she states that one-fifth of Pakistan is under water and thousands have died in the initial flooding. “The threat of disease now looms for 20 million affected people” who are in need of help, she said. “This is not just a humanitarian crisis; it is an economic and social catastrophe. The more support we can give, the greater number of tents, food, clean water and medicine will get to the people in need.”

Jolie has spoken about the need to donate to Pakistan’s flood victims before. At the premiere of her latest film Salt in the United Kingdom, she urged people to help, “This is really one (in which) we really have to urgently get in there and try and do what we can. So we will financially help and hope to visit and go when the attention dies down and to maintain the attention because it is millions and millions of people who will be uprooted for a very long time.”

At the premiere in Berlin she said, “No, of course not enough is being done in Pakistan.” And when asked what she was doing to help she stated, “I’m planning a trip, we’re contacting people on the ground, we’re speaking to people in the US government everyday … we’re going to continue to work together and see what we can do. The scale is just so (big), it’s such a catastrophe that it’s hard to know what to do but everybody should do something.”

McGregor filmed a message stating that the floods have “affected more people than the Haiti earthquake and the 2004 tsunami combined and as in all disasters it is the children who have been the hardest hit.”

As an ambassador for Unicef he urged people to help “the estimated 3.5 million children in Pakistan (who) are in need of urgent help. The situation is desperate and I am asking you to do what you can to help these children. We need your help today to respond to the crisis.”

“The situation is becoming more and more critical, threat of diseases like malaria and cholera is really real and thousands of children already have life-threatening diarrhoea. Unicef is appealing for funds to reach those children who have lost everything. We cannot stand by and let those children who have survived the devastating floods needlessly die of disease. These children have the same right to survived and thrive as those anywhere else in the world,” stated McGregor.

He urged people watching the video, which will be shown online and as a television appeal, to donate by calling Unicef or donating via their website.

Published in The Express Tribune

Commodity News Snapshot-Pakistan

3,500 tons of wheat supplied to Gilgit-Baltistan

ISLAMABAD (September 02, 2010): The government has supplied 3,500 tons of wheat by air to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) on the Prime Minister' special instructions to avert any possibility of food shortage in the area. Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, Nazar Muhammad Gondal said this while chairing a meeting to review the food items supply and availability in the northern parts of the country, here on Wednesday.

Pakistan producing over 40 types of fruits and vegetables: speakers

FAISALABAD (September 02, 2010): Speakers in a workshop on " Sustainable Management of Insect pests of fruits with special reference to citrus through modern protection and post harvest losses reduction techniques" said that Pakistan is producing more than 40 types of fruits and vegetables which have none to compare in the world with respect to taste and quality. But unfortunately we have also credit of using pesticides non-judicious.

Sugar stocks: MoI&P, PSMA presenting contradictory figures

ISLAMABAD (September 02, 2010): Ministry of Industries and Production (MoI&P) and Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) are presenting contradictory figures with respect to sugar stocks held by mills, informed sources revealed to Business Recorder. According to the MoI&P, stocks with the mills were 536,326 tons as of August 31, 2010 whereas PSMA claims the stocks with its members mills were less than 0.4 million tons.

Wheat planting season: FAO asks world community for more funds

ISLAMABAD (September 02, 2010): United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has asked international community to give more funds as wheat planting season is fast approaching in Pakistan where floods have destroyed country's most of the wheat seed stocks. Wheat, is staple food of the country, which is planted from September to November and more than half a million tonnes of wheat seed stocks have been destroyed by the floods, said a FAO report released here on Wednesday.

Growers condemn increase in diesel prices

LAHORE (September 02, 2010): Growers' organisations strongly reacting to the increase in diesel prices have said it will bring already hard hit farmers under further financial burden making it impossible to utilise machinery in agriculture. Agri-Forum Pakistan Chief, Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal while talking to Business Recorder said that around 3.5 billion liters of diesel was used by the growers and farmers in the agriculture sector.

Punjab agriculture board approves high priority research project

LAHORE (September 02, 2010): Punjab Agricultural Research Board (PARB) has approved a high priority research project 'improvement of value chains and tradability of farmer's produce' worth Rs 18.98 million. Approval of this project was given in 23rd meting of Board of Directors of the Punjab Agricultural Research Board (PARB) held here on Wednesday.

Official cotton spot rate cut to Rs 6,500 on improving weather

KARACHI (September 02, 2010): Official spot rate was lowered on the cotton market on Wednesday as floodwater is going into the sea, dealers said. The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) official spot rate was dropped by Rs 50 to Rs 6,500, they said. In the ready business over 10,000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 6300-6800, they said.

Leather industry facing persistent decline in exports: Agha

LAHORE (September 02, 2010): The National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) which were fixed at level of 150 mg/liter chemical oxygen demand (COD) are unachievable for the leather industry thus the government should immediately provide interim relief and reduce the NEQ standards to rational level.

Commodity News Snapshot-Pakistan

Floods cause Rs 17 billion losses to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa livestock, agriculture sectors

PESHAWAR (September 01, 2010): Heavy torrential rains and devastating floods caused a loss of Rs 5.344 billion to livestock and Rs 12.139 billion to agricultural sectors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, respectively. Briefing media here at Chief Minister's House on Tuesday, provincial minister for Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that statistics gathered from various districts showed a total of 94,924 cows and bulls were affected and 29,081 died in the floods which worth Rs 1.769.billion.

Who to blame for sugar price hike?

ISLAMABAD (September 01, 2010): Sugar prices are hovering at around Rs 90 per kg and it is difficult to determine which of the key players is to blame: the government, including TCP, the sugar mill owners, the stockists, the wholesalers, or the retailers. Background interviews with officials and private sector stakeholders, however, do establish the fact that sugar price is at an artificially high level and someone is making windfall profits during Ramazan.

TCP opens two LCs for 0.32 million tons of sugar import

KARACHI (September 01, 2010): The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has established two Letters of Credit (LCs) worth $243 million for import of 320,000 tons of white refined sugar. Sources told Business Recorder on Tuesday that with the opening of two LCs it is expected that first shipment of sugar would reach Pakistan in mid-September.

Sindh government lifts ban on inter-district wheat movement

KARACHI (September 01, 2010): The Sindh government has withdrawn Section 144 on the movement of wheat in the province to deal with the expected shortage of the commodity in the flood hit districts, Business Recorder has learnt. It may be mentioned here that the Sindh government, couple of month's back, had imposed Section 144 on the wheat movement at the joint borders of Sindh-Punjab-Balochistan and within the province to avoid smuggling of the commodity

Rice farmers, cotton millers: Zardari for special credit package

KARACHI (September 01, 2010): President Asif Ali Zardari has held a meeting with the representatives of rice growers and cotton ginning millers at Chief Minister's House here on Tuesday to discuss the extent of damages to rice and cotton crops due to recent floods and examine the ways and means to retrieve the losses and help recover the lost ground.

PSMA (Punjab) calls for import of raw sugar

LAHORE (August 31, 2010): Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA - Punjab) Chairman Javed Kayani has laid emphasis on the import of raw sugar to meet the demand in coming season. Kayani in a letter written to the Secretary Food Punjab said shortage of food is likely to aggravate as about twelve districts in Punjab have been inundated by the flash floods, damaging crops badly.

Who to blame for sugar price hike?

Sugar prices are hovering at around Rs 90 per kg and it is difficult to determine which of the key players is to blame: the government, including TCP, the sugar mill owners, the stockists, the wholesalers, or the retailers. Background interviews with officials and private sector stakeholders, however, do establish the fact that sugar price is at an artificially high level and someone is making windfall profits during Ramazan.

"The government is unable to control the rising price of sugar, which is as high as Rs 90 per kg in some parts of the country. The large stockists, who purchased sugar from mills and stocked it in their respective mills, are to blame," said an official who has been closely monitoring the sugar situation. The Cabinet, which is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, is expected to take up the issue of rising sugar price.

The Ministry of Industries and Production (MoI&P) which according to the Rules of Business is also responsible for taking measures to keep prices of essential items at a reasonable level is not accepting any responsibility for the price hike. Some officials of MoI&P told this correspondent that it is the responsibility of provincial governments to have check on prices through administrative measures and not that of the federal government.

The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), which was invariably blamed for manipulating sugar prices in the past, claimed that the industry sold 95 percent of sugar stocks at low rates and the current high price does not benefit the mill owners. "The failure of Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to import sugar well in time has increased market prices. Mills have hardly any stocks. Prices will stabilise if and when TCP sugar arrives," said PSMA Chairman Iskandar Khan while talking to Business Recorder. However, TCP Chairman Anjum Bashir, who was present in the federal capital on Tuesday, acknowledged that the delay of sugar import might have contributed to its current high price.

"I do not agree that it was TCP's failure; I will rather say that delay in sugar import is one of the reasons for the increase in its price," he added. Lengthy process due to procurement rules in addition to delay in release of funds by the Finance Ministry are the main reasons for the delay in shipment as TCP cannot open LC without funds, he added.

He, however, itemised several other reasons which, he claimed, contributed to an increase in sugar price including higher rates of transportation, destruction of infrastructure due to the floods, excessive oil prices in flood-hit areas and disordered distribution of sugar among the affectees. TCP Chairman said that the provincial governments had picked up only 40 percent of sugar from the TCP so far, which implies that they have sufficient stocks.

In previous meetings of the Cabinet and the ECC, some Cabinet members expressed reservations over the delay in sugar import and demanded a formal probe to establish responsibility. These members will also be present in the cabinet meeting when this issue will come under discussion on Wednesday.

The Cabinet is also expected to ratify the decision taken by the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) on July 20 and 29, 2010. On July 29, the ECC had directed the TCP to complete the ongoing sugar import process of 5,75,000 tons including the already arrived quantity of 2,64,000 tons and make all possible efforts to open tenders of the advertised quantity of 3,75,000 tons of sugar.

TCP implemented the decision of the ECC but it was not provided the required funds to open LCs despite the fact that the ECC asked the Finance Ministry to arrange funds for TCP immediately so that LCs for the tenders could be opened on July 31, and August 7, 2010, respectively.

The ECC had also decided that 100,000 tons of sugar, imported by TCP, would be offloaded in the open market at import price through provincial mechanism starting from July 28, 2010. The provinces were required to arrange payment through their selected dealers as they lift the stocks from TCP well before Ramazan. After completion of the current sugar import process the market forces would be allowed to prevail and the private sector would be encouraged to import sugar.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2010

Lack of opportunities leads to brain drain in technology sector

Pakistan faces a dearth of big information technology companies, prompting many dejected IT professionals with reasonable experience to think about leaving the country for a better opportunity which can match their qualifications and experience.

As soon as an IT professional attains experience of eight to ten years, he feels consumed by the need of finding a high-paying job which smaller IT companies cannot afford.

Dr Arshad Ali, DG School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), a top public sector university, agrees with this bitter reality.

“It is true that IT professionals face hurdles to their career growth after getting 8 to 10 years’ experience,” he said, adding the reason is an absence of big IT firms in the country which can adequately pay the experienced professionals and provide them with opportunities for further growth.

“Dearth of big IT firms is a problem which is somewhat linked with a lack of research opportunities,” he added.

“Obviously, when you do not have big companies which can pay enough, the experienced IT professionals have no choice but to leave the country and find lucrative jobs in other countries,” he said.

Few IT companies do research work in Pakistan. And those which actually do, their activity is usually not futuristic instead a majority of them undertake low-tech software development work. “Research is limited only to individuals and that need to be institutionalised,” Ali said.

On the academic front, very few universities in Pakistan are conducting specialised research, he said, adding some of the faculty members at NUST are doing research work for Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, Caltech, Centre for European Nuclear Research, Geneva and others. In — United States, he said, IT companies grant scholarships to their employees who have an average experience of 8 to 10 years to get further education and conduct research. This helps develop their capacity to do research and pursue a long career in the relevant field of work.

President Pakistan Software Houses Association (Pasha), Jehan Ara, agrees that after some years of experience IT professionals usually say goodbye to the country and this is a strong perception in the country.

She stressed that Pakistan desperately needs more companies that can hire and provide required opportunities for experienced IT professionals.

“Every country goes through a cycle in which smaller companies grow little by little and then turn into bigger and stronger concerns,” she said. “Every country welcomes this and this is how companies will also grow in Pakistan.”

For those who seek a longer career in the IT sector, opportunities for specialisation do exist in Pakistan where a professional can stay associated with the industry for a long time.

A lot of IT professionals in search of managerial positions leave technical jobs. However, a plethora of managerial positions are also available in the IT sector where these professionals can pursue a longer career without abandoning their area of expertise, she said.

Muhammad Salman, an IT professional working in an IT firm in Karachi, said many of the professionals including him aspires for a long career in Pakistan but end up in some foreign country.

”Another IT professional, who has over 15 years of experience, partly agrees with the perception that senior IT professionals leave Pakistan owing to a less attractive local market.

“Though there is a dearth of research in IT firms and universities, it does not mean that all professionals leave the country because of this reason. But yes about one-fourth of them do move out of the country owing to the absence of big companies,” he maintained.

China, India and the Philippines are examples in Asia where you can find a lot of companies doing good business and research. Particularly in the last 20 years, a number of IT firms have set up their businesses in these countries and are doing respectable research, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune,

Talks with IMF on: Pakistan seeks release of $2.6bn

ISLAMABAD: Under immense pressure from the International Monetary Fund over failing to make any headway on implementation of reformed GST on services and reducing power subsidy, Pakistan economic managers are not sure if they can convince the Fund for combine release of last two tranches amounting $2.6 billion, official sources told Dawn on Wednesday.
Sources said that the Pakistani delegation in the ongoing fifth review with the IMF at Washington was trying to convince the IMF Board to approve release of the two instalments $1.3 billion each in one-go.

“But there are serious difficulties mainly owing to the issues of power subsidy and implementation of reformed GST in October 2010,” the official added.

Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh on Wednesday also joined the Pakistani team, which is headed by the Secretary Finance.

The IMF has been informed about the difficulties faced by the government owing to colossal damages caused by the devastating floods across the country, the sources said.

Pakistan has missed the fiscal deficit target agreed with the IMF both at the conclusion of the last fiscal year and the same is expected for the current year due to the flood damages, while the policy of zero borrowing limit from the State Bank of Pakistan has been breached by Rs40 billion.

However, the sources said that the most serious issue was the failure of the government to eliminate subsidy on electricity from July 1, 2010 as was committed with the international donors.

Sources said that the IMF would be given assurances that the reformed GST on services would be implemented in the VAT mode from October 1, 2010.

Despite assurances being made by the Pakistani delegation to the IMF, no settlement has been made domestically over implementation of GST on services in the VAT mode.

In the last interaction between the federal finance ministry and the Sindh finance department on Sunday, the only decision made was that the issue would be resolved soon and both sides reiterated that the reformed GST on services would be implemented from October 2010.

Adviser to the Chief Minister Sindh Dr Kaiser Bengali criticised the federal finance ministry for failing to finalise the issue and said that the mode to implementation had been decided in June but it had yet to be approved and made a law.

“I have written two letters to the finance ministry while the CM Sindh has also written a letter to the prime minister, but nothing has been achieved,” Dr Bengali said, adding that the finance ministry was delaying the formal settlement for implementation of GST on services.

Sindh has suggested that all the taxes on financial services, advertising, construction and franchises be deposited in a pool and its distribution be made under the NFC formula.

While, Punjab has demanded the distribution on the basis of population of each province whereas Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have supported Sindh over the issue, but the final settlement has yet to be achieved.

However, the sources said that the authorities anticipate that the IMF would agree to release the single tranche of $1.3 billion immediately after completion of the ongoing talks.[DAWN]

Incentives for flood-hit farmers

The government has decided on a number of incentives for farmers to enable them to recover the losses caused by floods and grow essential crops to meet the country’s food requirements.

The incentives were discussed at a high-level meeting presided over by President Asif Ali Zardari at the Presidency on Tuesday.

Fears were expressed at the meeting that the country might experience a food crisis in near future because of widespread damage to crops from the floods.

The meeting was informed that over one million people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan had received no relief goods so far because the authorities concerned had failed to reach the areas, a source said.

These families are stranded on mountains and in far-flung areas where rescue and relief teams have no access.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the meeting had decided to encourage farmers to sow canola in flood-affected areas early next month and help them with seed and other inputs and land preparation to make optimal utilisation of land before the Rabi wheat season in November this year.

The meeting also decided to increase the purchase price of canola from Rs1,600 to Rs1,800 per 40kg.

The Solvent Plant Association has already given an assurance to purchase the crop at Rs1,800 per 40kg. Canola cultivation will not only relieve pressure on foreign exchange needed for import of edible oil but also improve fertility of the soil, the meeting was informed.

The meeting was attended by, among others, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Nazar Mohammad Gondal, Mir Humayun Aziz Kurd, Rana M. Farooq Saeed Khan, M. Salman Faruqui and Zaka Ashraf.

The meeting was informed that the canola crop would be followed by cotton. The president advised the government to provide free supply of seed to canola growers and help them to start early next month which is the right time to sow canola.

He asked the Ministry of Food & Agriculture to assess agricultural losses, including the loss of stored seeds and other agricultural items, and suggest measures to compensate the losses during the Kharif crop with the coming Rabi crop.

The meeting agreed that farmers in the affected areas should be provided maximum help in procurement of seed and other required items for their crops.



Mr Zardari asked the president of ZTBL to work out a scheme of providing financial assistance to farmers in affected areas to enable them to grow their crops and compensate their losses.

The Pakistan Agriculture Research Council was asked to carry out a study on the impact of climatic changes in the wake of the unprecedented floods.

Agencies add: Mr Zardari said that Pakistan could take years to recover from the floods. The president expressed concern that militants would try to exploit the chaotic situation in the country.

“I see always such organisations and such people taking advantage of the human crisis,” he said in an interview published in Britain’s Independent newspaper on Tuesday.

“It is again a challenge to not let them take advantage of this human crisis.”
[DAWN]

Floods cause Rs 244.6bn loss to agri sector: MinFA

* Small farmers suffer loss of Rs 98bn, while some face total annihilation of their crops
ISLAMABAD: The devastating floods across the country have caused damage worth Rs 244.6 billion to the agriculture sector with maximum losses suffered by the small farmers of around Rs 98 billion, while some facing total annihilation of their crops.

This was revealed in the initial estimate prepared by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MinFA) on Monday in coordination with the provincial governments and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) government. However, the estimate prepared by the MinFA has also said that the agriculture loss could be higher in Southern Punjab and some parts of Sindh as clear pictures from many areas have yet not been received. The ministry has said that maximum damage by the floods has been made to the minor crops of Kharif season, which includes jawar, maize, moong and mash pulses and some citrus fruit varieties. “The most upsetting thing is that the minor crops are mainly cultivated by small farmers and in areas where growers have small land holdings,” said a senior official of the MinFA. “This loss is the most serious setback for the farming community because most of the small farmers have lost considerable number of livestock too as they had limited facility for their animals.” Among the major cash crops the ministry’s report highlighted that the largest loss of Rs 71.4 billion has been faced by the cotton crop.

Cotton was sown over 3.1 hectares in the current Kharif season out of which the floods have destroyed crops at 0.51 million hectares, as a result the production is expected to decline by almost 15 percent to 11.7 million bales as against the targeted cotton production of 14 million bales in 2010.

The Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Muhammad Gondal has said that Pakistan will face serious cotton shortage in coming days as more than 15 percent of the crop has already been hit by the floods.

“Two million bales have been destroyed in the floods in Punjab alone and we have yet to receive the complete details,” the minister added. The cotton crop has been seriously damaged in Bakkhar, Layyah and Mianwali districts apart from many other areas in southern districts of Punjab, while the left bank of River Indus in Sindh is the cotton belt and the cotton crops have suffered in Sukkur, Khairpur, Ghotki, Naushero Feroze and Benazirabad districts. The paddy crops in the country have faced a loss of Rs 56.3 billion and the worst hit areas are right bank districts of Sindh.

The countrywide paddy production is expected to decline by around 27 percent to 4.35 million tonnes as against the original estimated production of 5.95 million tonnes. Among the major crops, sugarcane farmers have suffered a loss of Rs 19.3 billion and its production is expected to decline to 47.23 million tonnes as against the estimated production of 54.83 million tonnes.

Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Chairman Iskander khan said that the initial reports suggest that the sugar cane crops in Charsadda, DI Khan and some parts of Southern Punjab have suffered damages. He said that 4 million tonnes of sugar production was expected in the coming season but now 3.8 million tonnes is likely to be obtained. The MinFA has estimated that the other serious issue faced by the country in the near future would be shortage of vegetables.[DailyTimes]

Pakistan 2010: The Neverending Flood

One of the most devastating floods in the living memory - According to the UN, it has left 1,600 dead, an estimated 20 million people affected, and destroyed 1.7 m hectares of land so far. As Pakistan struggles to face the catastrophe, here is an in depth cartographic summary of the floods.[DAWN]
http://animation.dawn.com/flood-maps/

Lahore vs. Karachi?

Just a day left to the festival when an MQM MPA, Raza Haider was shot dead. As panic ensued on the streets of karachi, the authorities at Szabist wondered whether to delay the film festival. They were reluctant to go ahead since the majority of the students from North Karachi would have been unable to attend due to tensions and violence in the city. But the show went on as scheduled. 

For the last two ZAB FilmFests, it always comes down to this: Lahore films (basically films by NCA students) competing against Karachi films (films by Szabist students). The third Zab FilmFest was no exception. There were total of 18 films which were screened at the festival (six narrative, six documentaries and six experimental shorts). There were total of 13 categories of awards to be distributed; the ceremony was held on the last day of the festival. As I was also part of the final nominations jury, I had managed to watch almost all of the nominated films. Even so, I was quite disappointed by most of them. 

Films from Szabist

The narrative category from Szabist included films like Iblis (directed by Mansoor Mujahid), Dump (directed by Hussain Qaizar) , Ibrat (directed by Ammar Bin Asad) , Vortex Of Walls (diected by Prem Lata), Parchayi (directed by M.Faizan Sheikh).

Most of films suffered from the same problems that has always haunted the Szabist films in the past: the lack of coherent narrative, two dimensional characters. visuals over-powering the narrative and banal depiction of the “essage”or “oral”of the film.The only film that was an exception to this was Vortex Of Walls by Prem Lata. The film is based on the despicable practice in rural Sindh where a girl is married off to the Quran to gain eternal salvation. Even though the film’ stream of narrative was uneven and botchy at times, the effort was definitely there (and after a few more short films, I am sure she will get the hang of it). Some of these films focused too much on their visuals which ended up compromising on their plot and characters, resulting in a beautiful painting without a purpose of existence. Why almost all the film’ plots concentrated on death, murder, drugs or alcohol is anyone’ guess. There is a lot more happening in our society on which we can make films on (as shows by the students of NCA).

The documentary and experimental shorts category included films like Life (directed by M.Nasir Ali) , Enlightenment and The Collector (both directed by Hussain Qaizer). None of the films really contained any spark but were a decent effort nonetheless.

Films from NCA and other universities

Once again, in comparison, NCA films overwhelmed the films from Karachi and resulted in bagging seven of the awards at the ceremony. The narrative film Thag (directed by Ali Hameed) won the award for best film and, deservingly so. The film revolved around a local barber (played elegantly by Tahir) who’ a romantic at heart and wants to marry his lover but lacks the money to do so. In comes a mysterious, sunglasses wearing customer who tips the Barber Rs.100 instead of Rs.7 for the services just because he is such a ‘ice guy’ Even though there were some glitches in sound and visuals but none of that mattered as the narrative was so strong and the characters were so wel- polished that it kept you engaged throughout the film. Ali Hameed might as well be one of the new young shining stars of the future of Pakistani cinema.

The documentary and experimental shorts category was also dominated by NCA student who won both categories. Documentaries included films like Future of the Past (directed by Syed Salam Ahmed), Missing Vultures (directed by Ali Ijaz) and Living Literature (directed by  Zubair Malik). Some of them I saw prior in other festivals but were nonetheless engaging, well-researched and executed.

Suspension of Disbelief (directed by Adnan Aktar) won the award for best experimental short which emphasised on rudimentary of dreams, illusion and reality. Brilliantly shot and narrated, it definitely captured the essence of human existence and functionary activities that surround us in our daily life. Frames was also another experimental from NCA which focused on implications of war and conflicts.

There were minor contributions from universities like Indus Valley, Iqra and Karachi University but never really made any impact at the festival. However, an entry from the City School went on to win an award for best animation.

What now for the young filmmakers from Karachi?

Now the question remains; what made the films from NCA better than any from universities in Karachi? Do they have better equipment and are given more time to execute their films? Are they more connected to their culture than we are? Or is it just that they are better rehearsed in the art of film? The answer probably lies in all of them. Lahore and Karachi are two very distinctive cities. Lahore has a massive history and traditions to support its culture whereas Karachi is more of a hybrid city with multiple languages and modes of thought. It is important to understand the nature of Karachi in order to successfully depict it on-screen. Personally, the young filmmakers from Karachi should try and tackle subjects which are less complicated and more within their grasp. A film about ‘hange’in general would turn out to be banal and random whereas a film about a specific type of ‘hange’like consciousness or human conditioning can go a long way.

Jibran Khan is an independent filmmaker who’s "Dast-e-Tanha" was selected for the Three Continental Film Festival. Khan’s also an aspiring writer – his short story "Meditations of a Hari," was published by the Oxford University Press.

HEC sinking in financial woes

ISLAMABAD: The future of 9,000 PhD students is hanging in the balance as the authorities have released less than 10 per cent of the budget immediately required by the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

The Planning Commission (PC), which has been authorised for the first time to release the funds in place of the finance ministry, has so far sanctioned only Rs1.47 billion to the HEC. The amount is expected to cover not just the study-related expenses of students but also other ongoing development projects.

“The meagre allocation will not resolve our problems and fiscal constraints will continuously haunt us,” said Dr Sohail H Naqvi, Executive Director of the HEC.

The education commission has immediately sought the release of over Rs8 billion.
Dr Naqvi highlighted that 5,000 doctoral students were studying abroad while 4,000 were pursuing PhD at local universities.

He said that the Commission has requested Rs5 billion to pay off last year’s liabilities since the government has not released funds after December 2009 despite desperate pleas.

On top of the money required to pay off last year’s liabilities, the HEC was also seeking committed funds for the first quarter of the current financial year. The PC had promised to release at least Rs3 billion for the first quarter.

The government has allocated Rs16 billion in this year’s federal budget for HEC against a demand of Rs30 billion and that too is under the threat of being slashed. The government is undertaking an exercise to cut development spending with the aim to create fiscal space for the rehabilitation of the flood victims.Its much-trumpeted slogan of freezing non-salary expenditures to the last fiscal year’s level would save a maximum of Rs4.9 billion.

For the current financial year, the government had allocated Rs280 billion for federal development spending. However, it is contemplating a 30 to 40 per cent reduction in the budget, depending on the outcome of the ongoing discussions between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Pakistani authorities.

The PC has an interesting response to the education commission’s dilemma. The official spokesperson of the Planning Commission said that the HEC could meet its past obligations from the released amount.

The spokesperson said that the authorities have allowed the HEC to spend some portion of Rs1.47 billion for 61 projects, pending since last fiscal year. It is up to the HEC to either undertake the new projects or pay its liabilities.

Dr Naqvi said that the HEC would keep pushing its case for sanctioning of more funds as the Commission was on the verge of default and in return the contractors could stop work on projects.

He pointed out that Rs1.47 billion cannot meet the needs of foreign students as the total requirement on this account stands at Rs9.3 billion over the course of 12 months.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2010.

A Trust Fund By ADB to Attract Donnars

ADB director general Juan Miranda has said on Friday while addressing a press conference that Pakistan needs more fund and ADB is planning to launch a Trust Fund for Pakistan for flood related reconstruction & rehabilitation programme in order to make it sure that funds would be transparently utilized in right directions.


In the absence of trust & transparency, A special trust Fund would be established by the Asian Development Bank that eventually attract International Donors for rehabilitation & reconstruction of flooded areas.

Through the trust fund, the ADB would extend an invitation to international and individual donors for grant finances to co-finance development projects using ADB’s “fiduciary capabilities”, he said.

Paper work would be completed in a much professional way and we will certify work before make final payments. The DG has said that we would make it sure that reconstruction & rehabilitation would be completed in 2-3 years with the help of donors money.

"A formal request to the international community would be made to contribute funds for reconstruction after completion of Damage Need Assessment (DNA) by October 15, 2010, he maintained. "Our team will continue reform agenda that would be good for economy," Miranda said while replying to questions on elimination of electricity subsidy and implementation of reformed GST programme under economic reforms.

Terms and conditions of the loan programme were yet to be negotiated with the Pakistan government but depending on projects, it would be a combination of soft and commercial loans.

Pakistan could make an international appeal for debt relief, adding that Pakistan's debt situation was not so bad and it would rely on the bilateral response to their appeal. Juan Miranda, DG, Central and West Asia Regional Department of the ADB after completing his visit, briefed the media on the bank's proposed lending of $2 billion for rehabilitation of Pakistan's flood victims. "We are here to help Pakistan in rehabilitation and reconstruction phases of flood victims, he said, adding that $2 billion lending would be disbursed in 12 to 30 months. He said reconstruction of flood-hit areas would take around two years.

He said the bank appreciated that reconstruction job was going to be mammoth and hence it has initially earmarked $2 billion new financing for the reconstruction. “This is the minimum that we have committed to get the people back to hope and dignity”.

Answering to a question that the ADB had only reallocated its already committed portfolio under the medium-term country assistance programme for Pakistan, Mr Miranda said the amount was kept for Pakistan but it had not been allocated for specific projects so far.

“This is new money” meant only for flood related reconstruction and rehabilitation”, he added. He said to ensure transparency in the utilisation of funds, the ADB would adopt similar procedures that were adopted during the reconstruction phase in 2005 earthquake in Pakistan.

It is to intricate at current stage to determine the overall economic losses unless damage assessment is completed however short term impact of flooding on Pakistan GDP is significant, he added.

Countering to a question, Mr Miranda said the multilateral agencies expected Pakistan to go ahead with the long-term economic reform agenda despite damages caused by the floods.

“We expect the economic reforms agenda will not be derailed because of short-term reconstruction work. The reforms should continue for long-term national goals”.

He warned winter season is fast approaching which should be taken into account as a large portion of the population is homeless. There is big task ahead to provide shelters, food, health facilities and sanitation. Miranda stressed the donor community to help for humanitarian relief. "We need to put back hope and dignity into people's lives and this is not the time to let them down," Miranda added.

The two billion dollars will be for emergency rehabilitation and reconstruction work. The funds will be released in accordance with the findings of DNA, which will examine damages in 16 core areas. ADB will take the lead in eight sectors, including transport and communication, energy, health, water and sanitation, irrigation, social protection and public administration services. ADB has already mobilized a team of over 100 experts to prepare the DNA [Damage Need Assessment].

Responding to a question if Pakistan should seek international debt forgiveness, Mr Miranda said Pakistan was not under terribly bad debt situation like many other countries were and hence it should not take such an option.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has agreed to enhance the amount of $900 million earlier committed through “reprogramming” to $1 billion for relief and reconstruction work.

A World Bank mission led by Xian Zhu, operations director of the bank, had a meeting with Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and said that out of this amount, $700 million shall be available for floods related early recovery and reconstruction projects, while an amount of $300 million shall be used for financing flood related imports.

The economic losses of annihilating floods

 The economic losses caused by the deadly flood-the worst in Pakistan's history in almost all four provinces is yet to nail down. Significant losses are there for both people and the trembling Government.


Dr Salman Shah, Former federal Finance Minister, estimates that costs of rehabilitation of the flood-affected population and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure in different parts of the country could be in the range of $ 4 - 5 billion. Another economist put the figure between $ 3.5 and 4 billion. These losses are enormous when seen in the context of cumulative damages of about $ 6.5 billion in 14 floods since 1956.
According to Shahid Javid Burki, another former Finance Minister and ex senior Vice President of the World Bank, “we should get ready for another poor year for the economy, in the terms of the rate of the growth in the national product, pace of job creation and inter-personal and inter-regional income distribution. The government’s prediction that GDP in 2010-11 would increase by 4.1% now seems extremely optimistic. Given some of the shocks the economy has received in last few days, it appears that the national product will not increase by more than 2.5 to 2.8% this year. This will be about the same as the revised rate of growth in 2009-10. If that came about, Pakistan’s current economic expansion will be less than one half that of Bangladesh and one third that of India. Pakistan today is South Asia’s “sickest” economy and will remain that way unless the policy makers move decisively”. 

Agriculture knockout 
According to the spokesman of the World Food Programme, Amjad Jamal, “At least 1.4 million acres of crops were destroyed in Punjab. Many more crops were destroyed in North West and Sindh. The flooding has caused massive damage to crops and also to the reserves that people had in their houses. Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa was a ‘food insecure’ province even before the floods, and now in a lot of areas, people can’t afford even one meal a day”.

Damages, on the one hand, are likely to affect raw material supplies to the downstream industry that contributes to the export sector and, on the other hand, reduce the demand for industrial products like fertilizers, tractors, pesticides and other agriculture implements. And all this comes at a time when agricultural productivity has been falling over the years.

 If we include the figures of Sindh and Khyber province, the total goes up to more than 2 million acres. This is massive damage. Sugar cane, rice and cotton crops have been badly damaged. Agriculture experts are saying that farm production in Pakistan, Asia’s third-largest grower of wheat and the fourth biggest producer of cotton, may decline by 20 to 30% because of this damage. The losses to agriculture and livestock would have a spill over effect on industry and commercial activities to a great extent. This is because agriculture continues to play a central role in the national economy. Accounting for over 21% of GDP, agriculture remains by far the largest employer, engaging 45% of the country’s labour force.

As the flooding has been widespread, the damages to cotton crops may not be verifiable at this stage. Cotton, being a non-food cash crop, contributes significantly to foreign exchange earnings. It accounts for 8.6% of the value of agriculture and about 1.8% of GDP.

Sugar cane is a major crop, which is an essential item for industries like sugar mills, chipboard and paper. Its share in the value of agriculture and GDP is 3.6% and 0.8% respectively. Another cash crop, rice, is one of the main export items. It accounts for 6.4% of agriculture and 1.4% of GDP. High quality rice serves domestic demand and earns $2billion in exports every year.

Mostly small cities and towns surrounded by the villages have been affected. The big chunk of the economies of these cities and towns depend on the rural population. The rural population depends on agriculture for its economic survival. There are hardly any big industries in the affected areas. There are small industries which are also agricultural based and depend on agriculture for raw material. The economy of South Punjab largely depends on Cotton and wheat crops and mango orchards. The rural economy of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa depends mostly on wheat and maize crops and also produces a large quantity of high quality fruits and vegetables. The vegetables have completely been wiped out and big damage done to the fruit orchards. The standing waters in the orchards are causing further damage to them.

The canal irrigation system has also been affected and water for irrigation might not be available to the farmers in many areas for the next crop.  

Small farmers suffer the most
The affected areas of South Punjab and Sindh are dominated by the feudal lords, who own more than 80% of the irrigated land. Small farmers and peasants make up the majority in the population. Some work as daily wage labourers in the nearby cities and towns. A majority of the workers either work as public sector workers or are employed in the agriculture-related small industries.

The small farmers and peasants will suffer the most from this disaster as feudal lords and big farmers will transfer the burden of disaster onto the shoulders of peasants and poor farmers. Feudal lords and big farmers have shifted their families to safe places in the cities but peasants and small farmers are suffering and facing the miseries of life because they have no means to move out of the affected areas. They have no place to go and are forced to live under the open skies. Poor people have been left with nothing and at the mercy of the state machinery for rescue and relief. They have lost their livelihoods and shelter. Now, the real problem will start for them when authorities start to the pay compensation and reconstruction money. They will be asked to provide ownership documents to get compensation for their destroyed homes and livelihoods which they can not provide because these lands belong to the feudal lords. These peasants have been working and living on those lands for generations but they do not own the lands. The destruction of crops means that they will be left without any food reserves or money for months to come. The government will offer cheap loans and other facilities to the feudal lords and big farmers, but nothing will be offered to poor peasants and small farmers. They will be left at the mercy of private money lenders and feudal lords to be fully exploited. These private money lenders and feudal lords will offer loans to these peasants and small farmers at very high interest rates. These peasants will be forced to work like slaves for feudal lords just for few thousand rupees. This disaster will further impoverish the hundreds of thousands of already extremely poor peasants and farmers.[DAWN]