Private Sector Investment in Pakistani Agriculture The Role of Infrastructural Investment

By all accounts, Bank, Pakistan faces increased difficulties in expanding its agricultural sector. For its part, the government is gradually withdrawing from its historical policy of direct intervention and adopting a more market oriented strategy. In this strategy, the private sector will be expected to play the major role in providing capital to the agricultural sector, with government’s remaining involvement being largely one of furnishing basic infrastructure. The purpose of this paper is to assess the willingness of the private sector to commit capital to agricultural activities in this new policy environment. In this regard, it appears that if infrastructure is to make a contribution to the country’s agricultural sector, it will most likely be in terms of improved quality of facilities and efficient management rather than their simple expansion.