Sindh govt signs accord for corporate farming over 52,000 acres

After a successful pilot project for corporate agriculture farming in the Punjab province, a government-to-government (G2G) joint venture agreement was signed at the Chief Minister House between the Sindh government and M/S Green Corporate Initiative (Pvt.) Limited, a company that operates under the umbrella of the army for corporate agriculture farming over available barren land in all the provinces of Pakistan.

This was stated by Caretaker Sindh Revenue Minister Younus Dhaga while addressing a press conference at CM House on Friday. He was accompanied by Interim Law Minister Omar Soomro, Information Minister Muhammad Ahmad Shah, and Major 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 IIA 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 of corporate agriculture farming (CAF) in all the provinces of Pakistan.

Hence, considering an ongoing initiative decided at national and provincial levels, the Statement of Conditions (SoCs) for 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, the deputy commissioners concerned have identified some pieces of barren land measuring approximately 52,713 acres for the pilot project of this initiative – in Khairpur 28,000 acres, Tharparkar 10,000 acres, Dadu 9,305 acres, Thatta 1,000 acres, Sujawal 3,408 acres and Badin 1,000 acres.

According to the agreement, the barren land shall be handed over for 20 years after a survey, demarcation and verification that such land is not located in prohibited areas, is not under any pending litigations or court orders and also not included in any barrage land grants.

Further, it shall also be ensured that no land is considered for this initiative which shall fall within the limits of any villages, katchi abadi, locality, temporary shelters, grazing land, seasonal cultivation area, range, any settlement, amenity land, potential mining areas, already reserved land for any public purposes, 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 (Green Corporate Initiative Ltd) will spend 20 per cent of the net profit on research and development in the local area, while 40 per cent of the net profit will be paid to the Sindh government on an annual basis.

However, the remaining 40 per cent of the company’s share shall also be spent on local infrastructures, irrigation channels, solar-powered water supply schemes, schools, hospitals, development schemes and other facilities in areas where such projects will be executed in the Sindh province.

The land will not be granted as a title but will be given just for cultivation purposes. Ownership of land will remain with the Sindh government. No local rights will be affected by the projects. No water rights of the local population shall be affected.

The company has 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 shall be included in this initiative.

The Sindh government will have the final authority in case of any issues arising due to the execution of the corporate farming project. A Board of Management has been established under the Sindh chief secretary, which will take all decisions regarding land management and land issues for executing the project.