Sindh Govt, Green Corporate to Boost Corporate Farming

APP
Karachi: After a successful pilot in Punjab for corporate agriculture farming, a government-to-government (G2G) joint venture agreement was signed at Chief Minister House between the Sindh government and Green Corporate Initiative (Private) Limited, a company under the umbrella of the Pak Army for corporate agriculture farming, to cultivate available barren land in all the provinces of the country.
This was stated by Minister of Revenue Younus Dhaga while addressing a press conference at CM House on Friday. He was accompanied by Minister of Law Omar Soomro, Minister of Information Ahmad Shah, and Lt. General Shahid Nazeer.
The media was told that this was one of the initiatives under the umbrella of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) established under Chapter II A of the Board of Investment Ordinance 2001, introduced through an Amendment Act of 2023 passed by the Parliament, wherein all the Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries of provinces have been notified as the members of the SIFC Apex Committee and Executive Committee, respectively.
The federal and provincial governments, including the then-elected Sindh government, decided to introduce the initiative in all the provinces of Pakistan. Hence, considering an ongoing initiative decided at national and provincial levels, the Statement of Conditions (SoCs) for Corporate Agriculture Farming (CAF) was approved by the Caretaker Sindh government on December 1, 2023, to ensure the continuity of the policy decisions of the previous elected governments both at federal and provincial levels.
As a pilot project, concerned Deputy Commissioners have identified some pieces of barren land measuring approximately 52713 acres. In the pilot project, i.e., Khairpur (28,000 acres), Tharparkar (10,000 acres), Dadu (9305 acres), Thatta (1000 acres), Sujawal (3408 acres), and Badin (1000 acres),.
The barren land shall be handed over for 20 years after survey, demarcation, and verification that such land is not located in prohibited areas, not under any pending litigation or court orders, and also not included in any barrage land grants.
Further, it shall also be ensured that no land shall be considered for this initiative which shall fall within the limits of any villages, katchi abadi, locality, temporary shelters, grazing land, seasonal cultivation, range, any settlement, amenity, potential mining areas, already reserved land for any public purpose, motorways, superhighways, national highways, roads, jails, railway lines, irrigation channels, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, mountain ranges, heritage sites, religious sites, graveyards, forest land including mangroves habitats and protected forests, wastelands, wetlands, dhoras /depressions, sea-creeks, river deltas, inland waters, internal waters, historical waterways, vital security installations, port and sea shore.
The company shall spend 20 percent of the net profit on research and development in the local area. While 40 percent of the net profit will be paid to the Sindh government on an annual basis, the remaining 40 percent of the company share shall also be spent on local infrastructure, irrigation channels, solar water supply schemes, schools, hospitals, development schemes, and other facilities in areas where such projects will be executed in Sindh province.
The land will not be granted as a title but will be given just for cultivation purposes. Ownership of land shall vest with the Sindh Government. No local rights will be affected by the projects. No water rights of the local population shall be affected. Companies have to arrange for water resources through alternate modes rather than relying solely on irrigation channels.
All roads, including roads and trails across the project area, which have been traditionally used by the local population, shall remain open to free use by the public for commercial and public purposes. No land with mineral potential will be included in this initiative. The Sindh government shall have the final authority in case any issues arise. A Board of Management has been established under Chief Secretary Sindh, which will take all decisions regarding land management and land issues.