- 4.8 million acres of land identified for corporate agriculture: documents.
- The majority of the project land is located in Punjab, with additional areas in Sindh, KP.
- State lands will be acquired on a 30-year lease basis through joint venture agreements.
The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has identified 4.8 million acres of state land to be leased to a military-run company for corporate farming purposes, new documents reveal.
On August 9, during a session of the National Assembly, an MP questioned the Minister for National Food Security on the government’s efforts to boost agricultural cultivation. In response, Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain outlined several state projects aimed at increasing crop productivity and expanding cultivation areas over the past five years.
Hussain then revealed that under SIFC's guidance, the government's Green Pakistan Initiative has earmarked 4.8 million acres of “barren” land across the country for corporate agriculture.
The area is larger than the island of Jamaica and accounts for approximately 9.5% of the total area of Punjab.
The Green Pakistan Initiative is a collaborative effort between the government and the military to “enhance agricultural development,” according to its own statement. website.
The Minister further detailed that out of the 4.8 million acres, approximately 864,000 acres have been shortlisted or already allotted to the Green Pakistan Initiative for future cultivation through private sector contracts or foreign investments, while cultivation has already commenced on 100,500 acres.
Most of the land designated for corporate farming is located in Punjab, with additional areas in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said a government official, with knowledge of the allocation, requesting anonymity.
The official confirmed that Geo news State lands have already been transferred in Punjab and Sindh for these purposes. The official did not provide a breakdown of the areas in each province.
“The land will be offered to national and international investors for use by the Green Corporate Initiative,” the official explained.
Green Corporate Initiative (Private) Limited is a private company that was registered in August under the Green Pakistan Initiative. More than 90% of the company's shares are held by the Pakistan Army through its representative Shahid Nazir, according to the statement. documents Seen by Geo news.
Asked about the Pakistan Army's major ownership of Green Corporate Initiative Pvt Ltd, which is its largest shareholder, the official acknowledged that this is “partly correct” but did not provide further details.
According to its website, Green Corporate Initiative Pvt Ltd plans to acquire state land on a 30-year lease through joint venture agreements and then allocate it to investors for corporate agricultural projects.
Last year, while the Lahore High Court (LHC) While hearing a case related to allocation of state land for corporate farming in Punjab, it was revealed that in such ventures a profit-sharing mechanism would be set up, with 20% of the profits going towards research and development, and the remaining profits split 50-50 between the provincial government and the military.
