KARACHI: Agribusiness Support Fund (ASF) will take its last breath in November this year due to lack of support from Ministry of Commerce and closure of funds by United States of America (USA).
Talking to daily Times, Director ASF Appraisal Committee Mateen Siddiqui said concerned ministries did not show any positive response towards the utility and future of ASF, hence it will officially be closed down after its last board meeting in November.
After the last meeting, all related small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would become bareheaded and deprived of financial and technical support required for the promotion of their respective business/trade.
ASF used to hold meetings after every three months and in the last meeting in August the government functionaries did not show any interest in the betterment of the fund despite that the USA stopped funding to the government departments over their poor practices.
ASF helped SMEs by approving grants, for example it approved more than 50 million rupees for agribusiness sector including support to a project by World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) for provision of extension services for value addition and marketing of Pine Nuts (Chilghosa) in Balochistan.
The grants for SMEs are approved by ASF Appraisal Panel for a variety of projects spread all over Pakistan. One of the projects was applied research on adaptability of peat moss mass and application for recovery of uncultivable wastelands in Punjab clubbed with introduction of off season summer cropping countrywide.
Also, many SMEs were supported by the fund in attaining international certifications including Global GAP, BRC & ISO 22000. Some SMEs were also supported in obtaining customized expert inputs in running floriculture farms, conducting a market survey and creation of a marketing plan, participation in marketing exhibition and improving supply chain for producing apricot oil.
He said Agri-Marketing Integrated Centres (AMIC) and Common Facility Centre (CFC) were being run in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. It should be noted that agriculture business and floriculture sector time and again demanded from the government to set up more Agri-Marketing Integrated Centres (AMIC) and Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Sindh and Punjab.
The responsibility of AMICs was to provide common facilities such as grading, packaging, fumigation, testing, certification etc. Siddiqui said Export Development Fund (EDF) should provide funds to help promote floriculture as a viable economic activity in Pakistan, while Punjab government should provide land on lease as equity to flower growers and exporters to develop this sector in line with international market trends.
He said Pakistan is successfully involved in biotechnology, tissue culture, cutting of floriculture, and as a result we are now in a position to enhance export flowers to the developed world.
Moreover, under National Trade Corridor Improvement Program (NTCIP) for enhancing annual exports of fruit and vegetables, Ministry of Commerce in consultation with Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board (PHDEB) prepared proposals but all went in vain.