China leads the world in agriculture mechanization: Pakistani food minister

Gwadar Pro

Islamabad: Federal Minister of National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam has said that China leads the world in agriculture mechanization.

Chairing the 16th meeting of National Coordination Committee of the Agriculture Transformation Plan here, the minister said Pakistan can boost its agriculture sector through learning from China’s knowledge and experience.

“China leads the world in agriculture mechanization. We can take advantage and learn from them and boost our agriculture sector,” he remarked.

Imam stated that the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) focused on agriculture which will be beneficial to Pakistan.

The minister mentioned that China had supported Pakistan in all sectors for improvement and advancement.

Imam predicted that the Agriculture Transformation Plan with the Chinese help will revitalize the farmer of the country.

He underscored that the current government under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan had put special emphasize on the up-gradation of the Agriculture Sector.

Fakhar Imam maintained that the Agriculture Transformation Plan will ensure prosperous future of the farmers. He stressed that it was imperative to ensure extensive outreach of Kissan (farmer) Card Scheme.

Imam directed that the execution of Agriculture Credit Facility for the farmers should be done on priority basis. He advised to further accelerate the process regarding finalizing the mechanism to distribute subsidized agricultural implements to farmers.

Imam emphasized that the quality of seed was one of the primary factors that decide the productivity of a crop. He contended that to improve productivity of crops the quality and provision of high quality seed must be enhanced.

Imam pointed out that the developed world is working on developing hybrid seed for wheat which would increase productivity by 30-40%.

Imam indicated that the world was moving towards organic farming and Pakistan should be equipped to catch up with them.

Imam said that collaboration with Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences could be a game changer for Pakistan. He added that Pakistan needed to exchange expertise on mechanization, new variety development and germplasm.

He observed that almost 19% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was directly contributed by the Agriculture Sector and that through value addition it can become the back bone of the country.

He noted that these measures needed to be further strengthened in order to protect the small farmer. Imam assured all the participants that necessary steps will be immediately taken to provide any support needed by the provinces.

The minister was briefed that approximately 700,000 Kissan Cards had been distributed in the Punjab province. He was also briefed that upgrades seed processing plants will be in-place by 2023 for Punjab Seed Department. The minister was apprised about the on-going efforts of the provinces to ensure availability and price control of fertilizers.

The meeting was attended by Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtnnkhaw and other senior government officials from Sindh and Balochistan.