Islamabad: Japan has offered to provide a USD 5.2 billion funds package to execute an agro-food and industrial development project planned by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in Pakistan, according to a news source.
A country representative from UNIDO held a meeting in this regard with Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sahibzada Muhammad Mehmood Sultan on Thursday.
As per the report, this project seeks to improve cattle meat and fruit production yields utilizing new production techniques and technological implements.
Through this initiative, UNIDO broadly aims to increase the income earned by farmers and reduce rural poverty levels in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Sultan is expected to conduct the inauguration of this project in the first week of August.
While commenting on this development, he revealed that the government had recently launched the Prime Minister’s agriculture emergency project – with a particular focus on livestock. This programme involves the development of as many as 16 projects worth PKR 309.7 billion, and aims to boost Pakistan’s agricultural economy and uplift farmers.
