Daily Times

It is high time that Pakistan may rise again as agriculture products leaders with its strength to narrow and strengthen the trade imbalance between China and Pakistan hence aim to improve the agri-based exports from Pakistan to China. For this wish to come true, Pakistan needs to connect to the food value chain with that of China. It is pertinent to note here that China shares 20 per cent of the world’s food production producing cotton, fish, rice, potatoes, tomato, tea, barley, corn and peanuts along with other important items including fruits. For instance, oil seed production is another important value crop meeting the demand of industry and share in export too. Other important cash crops of China are green and jasmine tea, black tea, sugarcane and sugar beets while the fiber crops are jute, hemp, flax and others that also include the century’s old practice of raising silkworms and producing valuable silk materials. Pakistan can be a leading bread basket for the BRI food chain depending upon how well we use the technology and learning from China’s leading expertise from the farms to fields, factories and best practices.

Since the inception of CPEC and its ongoing second phase, Pakistan Agriculture Research Council( PARC) has signed three major agreement of cooperation with different leading Chinese agriculture development, research and academic institutions these include Lanzhou University, China Agriculture University and Gansu Academy of Mechanical Sciences besides Ministry of National Food Security & Research will also sign an MoU between Agriculture Research Council and China Machinery Engineering Corporation. These are the beginnings of long and strong cooperation wherein research, knowledge and scientific exchanges including training of the administrative staff/officers and administrative staff will be done. Taking the lead PARC has curated important projects to collaborate with Chinese institutions for agriculture machinery display and training centers, identification, adoption and testing of innovative postharvest processing technologies for value addition of fruits and vegetables in Pakistan and improving the capacity of the agriculture engineers, technicians and machinery manufacturers and also to find ways to collaborate for renewable energy technologies for the agri-based needs.

Pakistan can be a leading bread basket for the BRI food chain depending upon how well we use the technology and learning from China’s leading expertise from the farms to fields, factories and best practices

Apart from these basic uplift of the entire agriculture structure by building on these above mentioned initiatives, there is also another important step was taken by the Speaker National Assembly for establishing National Assembly Special Committee on Agricultural Products having largest number of Members of National Assembly (People’s Representative) in the committee reflecting the significance of the agriculture in the mainstream decision making bodies and structures. The committee also reflect the value that agriculture has in our overall national ethos, values and politico-economic culture. The committee was established for the first time in the Lower House of the Parliament having representative from all the political parties, experts from leading Pakistan institutions to support and strengthen agriculture. The committee is also focusing on linking CPEC with the farmer and improving the lives of the local farmers trickling down the values and profits to the hardworking farmer’s household hence strengthening the basic foundation of the economy. Apart from this a working group on agriculture under the CPEC has also been established. These two important structures are working in close collaboration with each other so as to maximize the overall benefits and uplift the agriculture sector for Pakistan.

There is a strong political and personal will from both Pakistan and Chinese side about working in close collaboration with each other in the Agriculture sector. Few of the areas that still need to collaborate on for technologies in hybrid seeds, crop production and management, bio insecticide, pesticides, setting of slaughter houses, capacity building of veterinary research institutes, disease diagnostics, surveillance vaccine development, innovation and production, diversifying animal feed, reproduction methods, honey bee management and hives including value addition to the bee farming. These are few of the mentioned areas however another important subject is about water management and use in agriculture sector and trainings for farmers to effective use of water in farming. Growing climate change and threats to corps, farming and overall agriculture is another these techniques and alternate corps are few other areas that both countries can work together.

CPEC is not only a game changer but a destiny changer for Pakistan and its populous. Agriculture sector is at the heart of Pakistan’s economic life and as the mandate of both countries has continued to focus on this sector connected to the life of people; it is the right time to build synergies and learning experiences from each other to rise and shine for a better shared tomorrow.

The writer is Director, Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies