Speaking at the opening session of the of two-day annual conference arranged by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to review a range of policy issues to reduce rural poverty in Pakistan, he said the policies framed by the country have failed to deliver and the country does not have adequate resources for research and development and consequently nothing could be done indigenously.
Haq said Pakistan's biggest problem is energy but the country was not being extended any help as donors have been talking about social sector. He added that energy crisis has been dominating everything and agriculture was no exception. He said capacity building would not help unless it is based on local experience. Later, talking to media, he said reforms in the power sector are going to take time and serious efforts were made by the Planning Commission recently to bring about improvement. However, he remained tight-lipped to a question whether efforts to reform the power sector yielded any result and the major hurdles in this regard.
Talking to media Deputy Mission of the USAID Rodger Garner said the purpose of the event and programme was to empower the policy makers and academia in finding indigenous solution to the problems. He said that the USAID has been helping Wapda in improving supply issue in the power sector and have been trying to make the people understand that how other countries have tackled the energy crisis.
Dr Paul Darosh, Divisional Director Internal Food and Policy Research Washington underlined the need for making investment in the agriculture sector of Pakistan especially in livestock. He said that use of better seeds and technology could be very helpful in moving towards production of high quality produce. The two-day conference funded by the US government was launched on Thursday to support Pakistani researchers and the government to make evidence-based policy reforms that addresses rural poverty.
The Pakistan Strategy Support Programme (PSSP) is a programme of the USAID. Rodger Garner said that the US supports Planning Commission and many Pakistani researchers to help them reduce poverty in Pakistan. "These efforts will contribute to a stronger, brighter future for all Pakistan," he added. The PSSP is a four-year US-funded initiative under the Pakistan Planning Commission's framework for economic growth implemented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).