As a primarily agriculture-based country, it is crucial for Pakistan to devise innovative approaches for maintaining optimal agricultural management. A meeting was held to discuss the demand, supply and procurement of wheat by federal government.
PM Shehbaz sharif instructed those in charge to use technology to improve the transparency in wheat procurement. He directed that a mobile phone application for record keeping, and related use be developed. Reflecting on the seriousness of this issue, the PM suspended two officials, Managing director and General Manager Procurement for PASSCO. They were suspended because of “negligence” in not incorporating use of technology in this process earlier. Other this suspension, The Prime Minister stressed the importance of implementing crop insurance and conducting a third-party audit of PASSCO’s stock. The premier directed PASSCO to acquire an extra 400,000 metric tonnes of wheat using a transparent procurement process.
The PM expressed his commitment to preventing economic losses, particularly with relation to farming. This approach is likely to impact food security in a positive way. In the same pursuit to augment farmers’ well-being, the premier established that the exceptional PASSCO centres and officers would be duly recognized.
Several members of the federal cabinet attended the meeting: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister of Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister of Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Coordinator to PM, Rana Ehsan Afzal and few others.
