PAKISTAN PICTURE

ORGANIC OPPORTUNITIES & POTENTIAL YET TO BE UNLOCKED

#17 SIA FOUNDATION PAKISTAN ORGANIC OPPORTUNITIES & POTENTIAL YET TO BE UNLOCKED Pakistan Article provided by Imran Asghar, Head Of Sustainable Raw Materials, SIA Foundation Pakistan BACKGROUND SIA Foundation’s Organic Cotton Cultivation (OCC) program launched in 2017 and is self-financed by founding members. The program is focused on increasing organic cultivation within Pakistan with strict monitoring systems and third party audit/testing verification. The program aim is to train farmers to adopt the latest innovations in organic methods in easy to understand language. We will support in the to development of national organic policy and standards, with collaborative efforts from other stakeholders familiar with challenges from the ground to the international level. PROGRAM DETAILS Our biggest achievement over the last year was getting our first audit results, giving confidence to our team following tireless efforts made to grow organic cotton. This gave us the opportun...

Textile industry on the edge

Textile industry on the edge By Irfan Moeen Khan ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to the White House late last month had been the focal point for all the print, electronic and social media. However, unlike meetings held in tenures of previous governments, this one was not about financial aid, fighter jets, weapons or any other form of financial assistance, rather it brought good news and provided some relief at a time when economic and political instability inflicted pain on the current Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. The meeting between the two heads of state at the Oval Office has lauded the world over and in a joint communique, President Donald Trump pointed to the probability of an increase in bilateral trade between the two nations. He expressed interest in Pakistan’s products and stressed that bilateral trade could go up by 10 to 20 times. The news was very positively received by the business community in Pakistan...