EU to pump $54 million in Pakistan’s horticulture, livestock sectors

KARACHI: European Union has launched a €48 million (approximately $54 million) project to promote Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in horticulture and livestock sectors of Pakistan’s Sindh and Balochistan provinces, according to an official document shared by the Ministry of Commerce. 
EU’s Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP) program is a 6-year project designed to reduce poverty in Pakistan by strengthening small scale agrarian business in Sindh and Balochistan.
The project which would be implemented by the International Trade Center (ITC) with local partners focuses on empowering women and men farmers in selected districts of both provinces.
Livestock and horticulture account for around 70 percent of value-added agriculture with strong growth potential, climate adaptation and increased participation from women.
The SMEs in these two sectors face major challenges including lack of technology and skills, financing and relationship with partners along the supply chain.
“The business environment, value chains, productivity and services such as access to finance, market information and agriculture extension need to be improved,” the ICT says.
The program will run from 2019 to 2024, with a nine-month inception phase starting from June 2019, and will assess the capacity of firms and needs at the farm and consumer levels.
“By improving product quality the small scale agribusiness including those led by women and youth will increase their productivity and profitability,” according to ICT.
Livestock having a share of 60.54 percent in agriculture and 11.22 percent in GDP, maintained the growth at 4 percent in 2018-2019 against the targeted 3.8 percent. Currently, it contributes 60.5 percent to the overall agricultural and 11.2 percent to the GDP, according to Economic Survey of Pakistan 2018-2019.
Pakistan’s livestock sector contributes around 3.1 percent to the total exports, is also a source of 35-40 percent of income for over 8 million rural families and providing them food security by supplementing high valve protein of animal origin, according to Economic Survey of Pakistan 2018-2019.
Pakistan hopes that EU’s GRASP program would help increase economic activity in the country and lead to further exports.
Pakistani officials say the country is towing revitalized plan for the promotion and exports of horticulture products from the country.
“The plan includes supply side interventions, infrastructure development, marketing support, knowledge base development, Capacity building activities and market development through trade promotion activities”, Muhammad Ashraf, CEO of Pakistan Horticulture Development & Export Company (PHDEC) told Arab News.
The EU’s GRASP program will be governed by three steering committees; one at the national level led by the government of Pakistan and two at the provincial level led by governments of Sindh and Balochistan.