Agriculture can become backbone of Pakistani economy with Chinese technology: PM Imran Khan

Gwadar Pro

Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that agriculture can become the backbone of the country’s economy with the Chinese technology.

Chairing a high-level meeting on the development of the agricultural sector, the Prime Minister maintained that for the first time in the history of the country, a comprehensive strategy had been formulated for the betterment of the agricultural sector.

The meeting was briefed on the progress on cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to increase innovation and productivity in the agricultural sector. The step will significantly reduce the cost per acre with use of modern Chinese technology.

The meeting was apprised that four Centers of Excellence in Punjab, research institutes in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and agricultural sector innovations were part of the project.

The meeting was informed that the project focused on genetic improvement of cattle to increase meat and milk production and a comprehensive import strategy is being formulated at the government level.

“The strategy will not only focus on increasing production by conducting research on breeds of cattle. A helpline 9211 is being introduced for cattle farmers and in Punjab, the facility has been reactivated,” the meeting was told.

The meeting was updated on the progress on projects related to olive cultivation and the Kisan (farmer) Card, aimed at the uplift of farmers.

Speaking on the occasion, PM Imran Khan said bringing innovation in the agricultural sector and ensuring prosperity of the farmers was among the top priorities of the government.

He said China was providing help in the agriculture sector which will strengthen the sector with the latest technology. The Prime Minister said the Agricultural Transformation Plan was the first step towards food autonomy and mentioned that the Agri Dashboard would prove helpful in timely decision-making.

During the meeting, it was highlighted that the Food Security Dashboard had been fully activated for wheat. The dashboard contains the demand and supply indicators of wheat at sub-district, district, division, province and national level.

The Dashboard will guide about the effective monitoring of prices, procurement and the timely decision-making. It will also help in taking timely action against profiteers and those involved in illegal hoarding of agricultural commodities.

The Dashboard will be updated on daily statistics to prepare the real-time data on availability of wheat in the country.

The meeting was informed that after wheat, the categories of sugar and other food commodities will be added to the Dashboard. The steps are aimed at saving the country from the future food crisis.

Later, the meeting was given a detailed briefing on the Agricultural Transformation Plan. The plan includes ensuring supply of high-quality seeds to increase crop yields.

In this regard, after amendments in rules and regulations, only those companies in the country will be registered which provide high-quality seeds after research.

Under Asian Development Bank, a PC-1 for distribution of quality seeds among Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also been approved.

To ensure access of farmers to seeds, the data from the Consumer Sourcing Authenticity System will be completed by this December.

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen, National Security Adviser Moeed Yousuf, Special Assistants Dr Shahbaz Gill, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema and the concerned officials. The chief secretaries of the four provinces joined through video-link.