Pakistan has a rich and vast natural resource base, covering various ecological and climatic zones; hence the country has great potential for producing all types of food commodities. Agriculture has an important direct and indirect role in generating economic growth. The importance of agriculture to the economy is seen in three ways: first, it provides food to consumers and fibers for domestic industry. Second, it is a source of scarce foreign exchange earnings; and third, it provides a market for industrial goods.
We are utilizing only 30.47 out of 79.61million hectares which is 38.3% of total coverage. The reasons behind such a low percentage of net cultivated land are low rainfalls, underground water issues and technology. Another major reason is lack of awareness of technologies in this sector. We need new experience and approaches in agriculture sector.
Agriculture contributes 24 percent towards GDP of this country. It provides food to 180 million people approximately. It is earning about 60 percent of the country's total export earnings. It is providing employment to 47 percent of the total work force. So, development in this field means the development and growth of the whole nation.
Izhar RMT will be a rural place having all the basic facilities like a developed urban society. It is going to be developed at some land which has no utilization; neither for cultivation nor inhabitation. IFRD is aimed at developing such type of available land in different areas of the country by applying its successful ‘Izhar Rural Development Model’ in those areas. These models will be facilitated with all the necessary infrastructure of roads, security, education and medical facility with all the required standards.
IZHAR Rural Model Town (IRMT)
A Project by IZHAR Foundation for Reserch & Development (IFRD)
Urban areas are getting burdened due to mass migration and it is posing great change for the administrations of the respective cities. The only reason of this migration is difference of facilities between urban and rural areas. In rural life, there is lack of medical and education facilities, Poor road, drainage system and poor facilities of electricity, water, gas and communication. The most important of all is the lack or no employment opportunities. There are no formal employment facilities for men and women and no value addition activities of local produces. If all of these facilities are made available at their threshold, it can be really helpful in raising the living standards of the inhabitants of the rural areas. Izhar group is one of the leading organizations of Pakistan and it has its own companies for construction, engineering, agriculture and industrial development. So, with proper cooperation of the government, donors/partners, it is really possible to achieve all the objectives set by IFRD.
It will comprise of 5,000 to 25,000 acres of land. This project is extendable to every area of Pakistan only if the government and other stakeholders could provide land for this purpose. It would not be a model village rather a rural model living town with standard living facilities of a small city or town.