ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that Pakistan, an agrarian economy, has immense and largely untapped agricultural potential and can transform its agricultural sector in months – rather than years – by adopting modern technology, increasing productivity and strengthening cooperation with China.
Addressing the Pakistan-China Agricultural Investment Conference in the federal capital, the prime minister noted that nearly 65 percent of Pakistan’s population still lives and works in rural areas, with agriculture remaining the backbone of the national economy.
He stressed the need to improve yield per acre through modern techniques, efficient water management and optimum utilization of limited land resources.
He said sustainable growth in agriculture requires coordinated efforts from the federal and provincial governments, the agricultural community as well as scientists and researchers.
The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of deciding what to grow and export, developing value chains, cold storage, warehousing and value addition to make Pakistani agricultural products globally competitive.
He described Beijing as a friend who stood by Pakistan through thick and thin and said China has never shied away from sharing its expertise and advanced technologies.
He said sending 1,000 Pakistani graduates, selected on merit, to China’s leading agricultural universities and research centers was a historic initiative of the federal government.
He said the trained graduates had returned and would now help farmers improve quality, productivity and value addition.
Welcoming Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong’s remarks, the premier praised China’s achievements in agriculture, IT and artificial intelligence, manufacturing efficiency and export competitiveness. He said Pakistan must aim to generate trade surplus in the agricultural sector through higher yields, competitive costs and higher quality, with the support of Chinese experts.
Referring to improving economic indicators, he said inflation had fallen to 4.5 per cent, policy rate to 10.5 per cent and exports were on the rise, adding that Pakistan now needed to move decisively towards growth.
The Prime Minister also expressed hope that President Xi Jinping would visit Pakistan soon and said that CPEC 2.0 would open a new chapter, focusing on agriculture, IT, AI, mines and minerals, and youth development.
Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong said on the occasion that China is keen to increase the volume of bilateral agricultural trade up to $1 billion as Pakistan achieves a trade surplus.
He said he was delighted to note that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz, Pakistan’s economy grew by over 3 percent last year and recorded a growth rate of 3.7 percent in the first quarter of the current year.
