ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar Thursday said that government would announce a package of special incentives in the federal budget to boost agriculture sector, a vital component of Pakistan’s economy.
While launching Pakistan Economic Survey 2015-16 here, he said this sector contributed 12.8 percent in gross domestic product (GDP) and it remained the largest employer absorbing 42.3 percent of the country’s total labour force.
He said, during Financial Year 2016, the performance of agriculture sector as a whole remained dismal as it witnessed a growth of (-0.19) percent against 2.53 percent growth during the same period last year.
The Minister said, the growth of crops declined by 6.25 percent while the other sub component of Agriculture sector like livestock, forestry and fishing posted positive growth agriculture sector is a vital component of Pakistan’s economy as it provides the raw materials to down the line industries and helps in poverty alleviation impact.
He said the agriculture sector growth was contingent on favorable weather condition.
There was a strong relationship between agriculture and climate-temperature, precipitation, floods and other aspects of weather that finally affect economic performance including agriculture production, commodity prices and finally economic growth, he added.
