PAKISTAN’S agriculture sector might receive a substantial boost as a concrete understanding has been reached to increase food exports to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in the next two years. The understanding was reached during high-level talks in Islamabad following a visit by a Saudi delegation led by Minister for Agriculture Abhdulrahman A Al-Fadley when the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen their agricultural and food security partnership. They have identified rice, red meat, fruits and concentrates, green fodder and water-efficient agricultural technologies as priority areas for cooperation.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have warmest of relations yet mutual cooperation was mainly focused on export of manpower to KSA, import of oil, grant of oil facility by the Kingdom and critical financial assistance for Pakistan. There have been longstanding demands that greater attention should be paid for strengthening trade and investment and this is what we are witnessing after the two brotherly countries signed a historic defence accord that contains a provision, among other aspects, to treat an attack on one country as an attack on two countries. A number of Saudi delegations have visited Pakistan during the last over one year to explore possibilities of diversifying mutual economic cooperation. Their cooperation is widening into energy, mining, information technology, tourism and textile sectors. Plans for a Pakistan-Saudi Economic Corridor linked via Gwadar port are also under discussion by relevant authorities. In fact, the two countries are actively expanding their economic ties through multi-billion-dollar investment packages, trade frameworks and joint agriculture ventures. For the first time in many years, a momentum is seen in efforts to boost economic ties and the Kingdom is expediting a $5b investment package in Pakistan’s economy, alongside 26 targeted contracts worth $2.2b. Pakistan has an agrarian economy with potential to meet its own food requirements as well as those of the trading partners, especially Gulf countries as Pakistan can export Halal food.
However, it is also a fact that despite sloganeering by successive governments, nothing substantial has so far been done to modernise agriculture sector to ensure optimum production and surplus for exports. Our dilemma is highlighted by the fact that the country faces real or artificial shortages of the staple food and there are frequent moves aimed at importing wheat and other good items. We need to focus on research, quality, grading, packaging, marketing, establishment of quality local testing labs, Halal meat and food certification, processing facilities to ensure value addition and setting up of proper cold storage chains to prevent post-harvest losses. Factors contributing to low productivity include traditional farming practices, limited access to modern technology, lack of access to agricultural credit and insufficient investment in research and development. It is all the more important that our farmers are properly and intensively trained on different aspects of modern technologies. Experts argue that focus should be on knowledge-intensive agriculture, as Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies are bringing revolutionary changes to agricultural sectors around the world. These technologies include Artificial Intelligence techniques; smart sensors for testing soil health and weather conditions; AI-powered agricultural drones; advanced seed technology and automated harvesting machines. Infrastructure development is also critical to link farms with markets and processing facilities. It is encouraging that the Pak-Saudi understanding offers opportunities for modernization of the agriculture sector and increased production.
During the visit of Saudi delegation, they reviewed investment proposals put forward by Pakistan’s private sector in livestock, agri-food processing and the rice value chain, and agreed to maintain coordination to pursue cooperation in these areas. They welcomed successful completion of the first phase of a water-efficient irrigation programme in Punjab’s Bhakkar and expressed interest in a proposed second phase targeting small farmers. The move towards Pakistan joining the International Dates Council could provide a platform to help improve farming, manufacturing and trade in dates. An opportunity for modernisation of agriculture is there and this must not be lost because of lack of planning and lethargic attitude.
