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BoI seeks govt approval to market farming projects

ISLAMABAD: The Board of Investment has approached the federal government for approval of its proposed policy to market corporate farms to investors abroad, BoI officials said.

The Board has awaited Cabinet's approval for about two years now before approaching it again with a fresh request.

The proposed policy offers foreign equity participation to the extent of 60 percent in farming projects in the country. Investors wishing to set up corporate farms under the policy would be entitled to 30-year lease rights over state-owned lands to be identified by the provincial governments. Lease rights over such lands will be extendable for a further period of 20 years.

BoI officials said the policy package had been designed in a manner to suit both Pakistani and foreign partners in corporate farming ventures, as it would provide lucrative profit opportunities for the foreign partner and expertise in modernised farming to the local partner.

The Board forwarded this proposal to the deposed Nawaz Sharif government but no headway could be made because it became a low-priority issue in the aftermath of Pakistan's nuclear detonations in May 1998.

The BoI officials said it was up to the federal government to approach the respective provincial governments to identify the areas suitable for corporate farming. "It is purely a provincial matter and we hope the government would issue directives to the provinces to identify the areas after giving final touches to the programme."

The Board officials said the BoI has also asked the government to plan suitable measures for marketing the corporate farming policy to exploit it to the fullest.

The officials said the introduction of corporate farming in Pakistan would considerably help to exploit uncultivated areas besides promoting commercialism in this important sector.ÑFortuna