12 January, 2021: “The Project for Agri-Food and Agro-Industry Development Assistance (PAFAID) conducts the second Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting comprising of key national and provincial stakeholders to provide overall guidance and monitor the implementation of the programme. With the participation of federal and provincial counterparts, the PSC has successfully validated the project progress report and planned activities for the future.
After conducting a detailed data collection exercise and surveying of more than 1500 value chain actors during the inception phase, which contributed to the understanding of current socio-economic and compliance related challenges, including challenges due to the COVID 19 pandemic, potential investments and activities of the project were identified. The project has equipped Agriculture Department Balochistan, Livestock Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) including project districts, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority with teleconference systems. Expert working group (EWG) established and sessions conducted for technical document development on Policy, laws and standard related to the cattle meat value chain, Post-mortem inspection practices and Good Hygiene Practices (GHP), Ante-mortem inspection practices and Good Animal Husbandry Practices (GAHP), Good Agricultural Practices guide for apple value chain. The development of a meat processing curriculum is in progress between Federal Meat Academy in Japan (FMA), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Animal Husbandry In-service Training Institute (AHITI) KP. Preliminary assessments are conducted for Slaughterhouses across the selected districts of KP, Development of an apple value chain strategy, Pesticides Quality Control and Testing Laboratory (PQCTL), Educational programme in food science and technology of the Balochistan Agriculture College (BAC).
Federal Secretary Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Mr. Ghufran Memon chaired the meeting and appreciated the role of Govt. of Japan and UNIDO for their support for the agriculture sector in Pakistan which will contribute towards improving the livelihoods of actors involved in the selected value chains. The meeting was also attended by Secretary Agriculture KP, Mr. Muhammad Israr, Secretary Agriculture and Cooperatives, Mr. Qambar Dashti, Deputy Secretary Economic Affairs Division, Mr. Hassan Akhtar, Additional Secretary Local Council Board KP, Mr. Said Rehman and representatives from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority, Balochistan Food Authority, JICA and UNIDO.
Key decisions regarding allocation of additional funds for the up gradation of pesticides and quality control lab in Quetta and Meat testing lab in KPK were made and UNIDO was requested to provide policy recommendations for ensuring meat quality & Safety. The committee members expressed their gratitude to JICA and pledged their support to PAFAID for successful implementation of future activities.