ISLAMABAD              -             Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) would introduce about 200 national brands of different food products in local market for promoting value addition of agriculture products as well as reducing domestic reliance on imported food stuff and to provide cost effective consumables to a common man in the country. The initiative was aiming at to reduce poverty in the rural areas of the country by enhancing farm income with value addition of agriculture products being produce in these areas, said Director General PARC Dr Muhammad Azeem Khan. While talking to APP he informed that PARC in collaboration with the private sector embarking upon an holistic plan for transforming value added agriculture to reduce import of food items that consume about $1.5 to $2 billion worth of the country’s foreign exchange reserves annually and was a major cause of trade deficit. “The other objective of the initiative was to encourage a large bulge of educated youth in agri-sector by providing them basic training and facilities for value addition of agriculture products to start their own business for a respectable livelihood, “ he added.