The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has identified 4.8 million acres of state land for lease to a military-run company for corporate agriculture farming, disclose recent documents.
On August 9, during a National Assembly session, a parliamentarian questioned the minister for national food security about the government’s efforts to boost agricultural cultivation. In response, Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain outlined various state projects aimed at increasing crop productivity and expanding cultivation areas over the past five years.
Hussain then revealed that, under SIFC’s direction, the government’s Green Pakistan Initiative has earmarked 4.8 million acres of “barren” land across the country for corporate farming.
The area is larger than the island of Jamaica and is approximately 9.5% of Punjab’s total land area.
The Green Pakistan Initiative is a collaborative effort between the government and military to “enhance agricultural development”, as per its own website.
The minister further detailed that out of the 4.8 million acres, approximately 864,000 acres have been either shortlisted or already allocated to the Green Pakistan Initiative for future cultivation through private sector contracts or foreign investments, while cultivation has already commenced on 100,500 acres.
Most of the land designated for corporate farming is located in Punjab, with additional areas in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said a government official, with knowledge of the allocation, who requested anonymity.
The official confirmed to Geo News that state land has already been transferred in Punjab and Sindh for these purposes. The official did not provide a breakdown of the areas in each province.
“The land will be offered to domestic and international investors for its right of use by the Green Corporate Initiative,” the official explained.
Green Corporate Initiative (Private) Limited is a private company that was registered in August under the Green Pakistan Initiative. Over 90% of the shares in the company are held by the Pakistan Army through its nominee Shahid Nazir, as per documents seen by Geo News.
When asked about Green Corporate Initiative Pvt Ltd’s primary ownership by the Pakistan Army, being its largest shareholder, the official acknowledged this as “partially correct” but did not provide further details.
According to its website, Green Corporate Initiative Pvt Ltd plans to acquire state land on a 30-year lease through joint venture agreements and then allocate it to investors for corporate farming projects.
Last year, while the Lahore High Court (LHC) was hearing a case concerning state land allocation for corporate farming in Punjab, it was revealed that in such ventures a profit-sharing mechanism would be in place, with 20% of the profits dedicated to research and development, and the remaining profits split 50-50 between the provincial government and the army.
