Economic Transformation Initiative - Gilgit Baltistan

The objective of the initiative is to increase agricultural incomes and employment for at least 100,000 rural households in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, where over 90 per cent of the population is engaged in agriculture.

The initiative will focus on:

• Increasing agricultural production, and introducing high-value cash crops and linking farmers to local markets
• Developing and improving infrastructure including irrigation schemes and rural roads
• Organizing smallholder farmers into producers' groups and formulating value chain development

In Pakistan, poverty in remote rural areas is largely due to small per capita landholdings (0.6 – 0.8 acres), poor access to markets, lack of access to credit, inputs and support services, limited off-farm employment opportunities, and policy and institutional constraints.

The initiative will directly support the Government's second poverty reduction strategy paper (2010), which highlights the need for an increased investment in agriculture and rural development.