(Item 11 of the Agenda)
70. The current system of dissemination of agricultural
statistics lacked an early warning system, and was mostly geared towards the
requirements of government to carry out analysis for formulating policy
decisions. The system was neither farmer - nor agribusiness-oriented in that it
was not able to provide information on time to farmers to enable them to make
production decisions, nor did it provide production/marketing information to
traders, processors and agribusiness companies according to their
requirements.
71. Apart from this, information on government policy
instruments that affect agricultural production, domestic marketing and
international trade and investment climate of agro-industries was not a part of
the agricultural statistics dissemination system. There was therefore a need for
a specific Agribusiness Information System (ABIS).
72. Information properly disseminated to farmers, traders,
agricultural researchers, planners, government officials and policy makers would
be important in the allocation of resources and in the planning process. Hence
there was need for a dynamic market information dissemination service. Every
piece of agricultural information is useful for all the active players in the
agribusiness. However, the functions of each group differ; thus, the data forms
required by each group would vary.
- Policy makers. Government policy makers had to make well thought
out, timely and relevant decisions, and therefore needed timely and relevant
information on production, prices, exports, imports, consumption requirements,
deficit or surplus.
- Farmers. Farmers generally followed the cobweb path and kept on
moving around the equilibrium price without achieving equilibrium. They based
their production and marketing decisions on their experience. The prices they
last received played a central role in their decision-making on where to sell
and to whom. If they were given price information, they would compare this
with their last sale price, and therefore benefited from having access to
a range of options.
- Traders. Marketing functions were facilitating functions. Traders
needed to decide on the purchase and sale points, and therefore information
on prices, arrivals, consumption requirements and production were important.
- Agribusiness companies. Agro-industries were the main consumers
of agricultural products. The agribusiness companies maximized the use of
government and private sector data, information and services to expedite agribusiness
investment and resolve constraints that impeded agro-industry development.
- Agricultural researchers/economists. Researchers/economists, whether
in the public or private sector, needed all information on area, production,
yield, marketing margins, consumption requirements, distribution arrangements,
wholesale prices at important markets, trade data and government policies.
They needed current and historical data to conduct further analysis for developing
policy options for the use of policy makers.
73. Vast potential existed for the promotion of agribusiness
in Pakistan and government policies encouraged and supported investment in this
sector. Agricultural statistics as disseminated by MINFAL provided basic data,
but the ABC in MINFAL should be revitalized to play an active role in
establishing comprehensive data, data analysis and dissemination to achieve its
objectives. In support of this task the following plan was designed for the
ABC.
- Nomenclature: A change in nomenclature would be made, from Agribusiness
Cell (ABC) to Agribusiness Council (ABCon), and would be moved from the public
to the semi-public sector, although it would remain under the administrative
control of MINFAL. Initially, the Government would finance it. After its successful
launching and operations, ABCon would recover cost of its services from its
clients (agribusiness companies and prospective investors).
- Objective: The ABCon aimed to stimulate and promote private sector
investment in agribusiness and agro-industry. This would be done by providing
advisory services and comprehensive agro-based information to the policy makers,
farmers, agribusiness companies, prospective investors and creating investment-enabling
environment.
- Methodology: It would be provided with a highly motivated team of
qualified personnel particularly in the fields of agribusiness, agro-industry,
agricultural economics and computer programming. This team would be supported
by a comprehensive agro-based database system and data analysis. The available
agricultural statistics would provide the requisite data for agribusiness
decision-making. These data, along with other relevant data/information, would
be disseminated through monthly analytical and biweekly news reports. The
reports of the ABCon, as recommended here, would form an integral part of
the advisory services.
- Structure: It would have the following four services: Technical
Analysis; Advisory/News; and Monitoring. It would also have a personnel administration
section. All services would coordinate with each other to meet the objectives
of ABCon.
