MoI&P URGED TO INCREASE SCOPE OF SMEDA TO TAKE SME FARMERS IN ITS FOLD

The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has thanked the prime minister (PM) for finally approving the appointment of Hashim Raza as the chief executive officer of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) and has urged the PM to direct the ministry of industries to advise SMEDA to take the SME farmers in its fold as the SME framers are also entrepreneurs who are engaged in value addition of their produce and contributing to GDP, they are employing workers, supplying raw material to manufacturers and playing important role and are the real backbone of the economy. They also need finance and facilities for their income generation activities.
UNISAME has therefore taken the SME farmers in its fold and set an example and in this connection has welcomed the SME Farmers Association (SMEFA) as an affiliated forum and agreed to advocate its cause with full vigour in all forums.UNISAME sincerely hopes SMEDA will take SME farmers in its programme and also focus on promotion and development of SME farmers just like micro to medium sized entrepreneurs. SMEDA needs to educate the farm sector on modernization, value addition and offer marketing and technical support to the SME farmers.
President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said UNISAME had sponsored SMEFA many years ago and kept requesting SMEDA to take the SME farmers in their fold and consider them also as entrepreneurs by virtue of their income generation activity. Most of the SME farmers are also engaged in value addition of their produce. In fact they belong to the primary sector and are part and parcel of the supply chain and are suppliers of raw material to the industrial units.
UNISAME is thankful to the State Bank of Pakistan ( SBP) for giving due recognition to the farm sector and facilitating financing for SME farmers. The UNISAME Council has assured full support and co-operation to SMEFA and has opened its doors for SME farmers and has promised to attend to all their matters just like they do for the SME all over Pakistan.

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