SMEDA, Sindh Agri dept sign agreement to evolve strategy

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) has entered into an agreement with the Sindh Agriculture Department for development of entrepreneurship in the agri sector.

Additional Secretary, Secretary Agriculture, Sindh Shakeel Sheikh and SMEDA’s General Manager Outreach Javed Khattak signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations. SMEDA chief executive officer Sher Ayub Khan Sajid and Secretary Agriculture Sindh Jamal Abro were also present on the occasion.

As per agreement, both the organizations would evolve strategy to run the project “AgriPreneurhsip” under training will be arranged for 500 Agri graduates to equip them with business skills, soft skill and agri modules.

Initially, the project would be executed in five districts and in the next phase, it would be extended to all districts of Sindh. The agreement also includes a segment for DairyPreneurship and TechPreneurship projects to be run in collaboration with the concerned departments of the Sindh government.

SMEDA chief speaking on the occasion highlighted SMEDA’s services in Sindh said it has successfully implemented a project on “Women Entrepreneurship Training” under “Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Program (BBSYDP)” for 600 female students in collaboration with Women Development Department (WDD), Government of Sindh followed by another collaboration with Youth Affairs Department to implement an entrepreneurship program for 2450 trainees besides conducting “Shell-Tameer Program” with the objective to encourage young persons of 18-32 years of age to start and develop their own business. Secretary Agriculture said the rural areas of Sindh have a big problem of unemployment despite having a lot of the young educated persons, who have skill to work on machines to relate agriculture implements & equipment repairing and manufacturing.