KARACHI - The agricultural experts, civil society activists, peasants and politicians expressed serious reservations over the Corporate Agriculture Farming (CAF) policy and condemned the PPP-led coalition government which had given nod to lease out six million acres land of country to Gulf-based multinationals. They further said that the CAF policy was approved in 2007 to allow the foreign investors to get thousand of acres of land on lease in country. The experts expressed these views at a consultative workshop on 'land grabbing and its impact on food, agriculture and small farmers organised by Shah Sachal Sami Welfare Association in collaboration with Actonaid Pakistan. The farmers especially women from various parts of Sindh attended the programme. Meanwhile, after consultative workshop, the farmers also took out a rally against Corporate Agriculture Farming policy. Shoib Aziz Policy Officer Food Rights of Actionaid Pakistan speaking at workshop said Pakistan is an agrarian country and 67 percent population are directly or indirectly linked to agriculture. Agriculture accounts for one-fourth of GDP and employed 44 percent of population. However, despite an agrarian country, Pakistan has been declared net food importing country by the World Trade Organisation, he said and recalled that during partition, Pakistan was only food secure country and being part of united Punjab it used to provide food to whole united Hindustan. But due to subsequent flawed in agriculture polices such as green revaluation made the agriculture and food security at the brink of disaster, he maintained. He pointed out that despite serious concern of farmers community and civil society, previous government of Musharraf approved Corporate Agriculture Farming (CAF) policy, while present government push the policy step ahead and announced to offer six million acre land to resourceful countries and Multinational Companies (MNCs). The announcement of present government has raised many questions, while the farmers community and other stakeholders showed serious reservations about the issue. Aziz further said that agriculture experts warned for far-reaching adverse consequences of such polices and raised questions because when our own 75 percent households are landless and poverty is rampant, why we are leasing land to rich Arab countries? While on the other hand India is grabbing land in African countries to meet its food security needs. Keeping in mind example of African countries where MNCs expand their land and rendered many farmers communities landless, he said that the farmers community of Pakistan fears that they would be further marginalised in the wake of corporate farming. The further mechanisation of agriculture by resourceful countries or by MNCs will create massive unemployment and add to increase in hunger and poverty. He further said that the Pakistan is water stressed country and numbers of time farmers could not get good yield due to shortage of water, so in this condition providing water to such powerful resourceful countries means depriving of our own small scale farmers and jeopardising food security. We are already in fear of adverse impact of climate change on our crops and biodiversity, leasing of land for 90 years will further pose a threat to biodiversity, and huge fauna and flora of our area, the farmers and civil society struggle for land reform will be pushed back and land lords (who are just seven percent and occupying half of Pakistan land) will further expand their land under Corporate Agriculture Farming policy, he added. Meanwhile, chief of Save Sindh Movement Shah Muhammad Shah said that establishment has vested interests in the lease of land. Sardar Ghulam Mustafa Khaskheli, Lala Arshad Khaskheli and others also spoke on this occasion.