Shahzad Ali highlights foreign investment in corporate farming to boost agriculture sector, tackle food insecurity.

ISLAMABAD -- Chairman Pakistan Hitech Hybrid Seed Association (PHHSA) Shahzad Ali Malik on Thursday said foreign direct investment in corporate farming holds the potential to benefit the country's agriculture sector in offsetting the impending hovering threat of food insecurity besides meeting food staple needs of the people.

Speaking to a delegation of progressive farmers, he said Pakistan is in dire need of foreign direct investment (FDI) to improve its foreign exchange reserves and to bridge the investment gap the country is currently experiencing, said a news release here.

Such investments are crucial to boost its agricultural and industrial production, which can lead to job creation, increased exports, and the generation of additional tax revenues,he added.

He said several countries, like India and Indonesia, went for public-private partnerships with foreign partners to increase local production of high-yielding seeds.

This initiative aims to enhance the country's crop productivity and farm incomes by ensuring the availability of affordable, high-yielding seeds. Such partnerships side-stepped the complex and lengthy process of developing new cultivars, he added.

He said in the realm of corporate farming, an investor needs capital investment for acquiring or leasing land, procurement of agricultural machinery, land development and irrigation and water resources development with high-efficiency irrigation solutions, where water availability is limited.

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