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GREEN PAKISTAN

Optimistic outlook for the future of agriculture as the government’s recent initiatives to moderise the sector will increase its productivity and exports to international markets

The agriculture sector is a critical component of Pakistan's economy, employing a significant portion of the population and contributing substantially to the country's $350 billion gross domestic product (GDP) as it accounts for around 24 per cent of GDP and employs approximately 42 per cent of the total labour force.

The agriculture sector in Pakistan faces numerous challenges, including water scarcity, outdated farming techniques, lack of modern technology and machinery, and dependence on erratic weather patterns. However, with the government's recent initiatives to modernise the sector, there is an optimistic outlook for the future of agriculture in Pakistan.

The latest statistics show that Pakistan's major crops, including wheat, rice, sugarcane, and cotton, are showing promising growth. However, the country needs to shift focus to more valuable crops such as tea and olive plantation in order to curtain import bill and achieve self-sufficiency.

There is a growing focus on agribusiness and value addition in Pakistan, with the government promoting agro-based industries and providing incentives to entrepreneurs investing in the sector. The government's initiatives to improve irrigation systems, promote modern farming techniques, and provide access to credit for farmers are expected to further boost the agriculture sector's growth.

SIFC’s lead role

Pakistan is aiming to get investment worth $30-50 billion in the next four to five years in agriculture under a strategic plan to transform the economy. The government is keen to exploit full potential of the sector under the ambit of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), which was launched last year to entice foreign investments and stimulate the nation's economic growth.

Under the Green Pakistan Initiative, which is part of the SIFC, the government is targeting to increase productivity and transform barren land into fertile ground. The SIFC had approved 28 projects worth billions of dollars that would be offered to Gulf countries for investment in key sectors including agriculture, livestock, mining, minerals, Information Technology (IT) and energy.

Initially, the approved schemes are in the food, agriculture, information technology, mines and minerals, petroleum and power sectors. Majority of Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain have shown their interest for investment in Pakistan.

Green Pakistan Initiative

The primary objectives of Green Pakistan Initiative are to reclaim unused and barren government land to increase agricultural productivity by attracting private sector as well as domestic and foreign investors. About 24 million acres of land in Pakistan is under cultivation and the government still has 91 million acres of vacant land that will be used mainly to increase agricultural productivity.

The initiative, which has commenced its first phase in the Cholistan region with plans to extend across the country, has made commendable progress in South Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Sind. The provincial governments are also making sincere contribution towards the national cause by providing all necessities to the development of the projects on priority basis.

With a vision to harness modern agricultural technology, the Green Pakistan Initiative aims to establish a comprehensive framework for sustainable farming, livestock management and increase productivity which will also create jobs in the country. The initiative seeks to foster large-scale corporate farming, aligning with global best practices across the entire agricultural cycle to ensure sustainable growth and prosperity for the region.

Promising outlook

The agriculture outlook for Pakistan is promising, with the sector showing resilience and adaptability in the face of challenges. With continued government support and investment in modernising the sector, industry stakeholders and experts said Pakistan's agriculture is poised for sustainable growth and increased contribution to the country's economy.

Agriculture sector, which ensures food security and provides raw material to the industrial sector, may contribute $3 billion to national economy in the year 2023-24, according to Pakistan Business Forum. Still, it has the potential to grow much more provided the new government takes a holistic approach towards the sector, the forum said.

Another research report shows that agricultural GDP in Pakistan is expected to increase to $65.7 billion by 2026, up from $58.3 billion in 2021. The sector will register a 1.7 per cent year-on-year average growth rate from 2021, it added.

The country is likely to achieve 3.5 per cent growth in agriculture sector during the financial year 2023-24 by meeting the target of major crops including cotton and rice production which would contribute positively to the budgeted GDP growth target of 3.5 per cent.

“The increase in the production of cotton, rice as well as minor crops, and positive growth in the livestock sector would help achieve the agriculture growth target,” according to a senior official of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

The official said that cotton production for 2023-24 was estimated at 11.5 million bales from an area of 2.4 million hectares, showing an increase of 126.6 per cent in production over the last year.

“Rice production for 2023-24 is estimated at 8.64 million tonnes from an area of 3.35 million hectares showing an increase of 12.7 per cent and 18 per cent in area and production respectively over last year, he said.

Shifts focus to tea, olive plantation and save $5b annually

Experts said Pakistan has to focus on diversifying it agricultural production by shifting focus to value-addition crops that will not only cater to the needs of domestic market but it will help saving precious foreign exchange by reducing import bills spending on edible oil, tea and other commodities.

Elaborating, they said farmers should pursue tea plantations on a commercial scale in line with the government policy who is willing to bring 25,000 acres of land under tea cultivation in next five years.

Out of the proposed 25,000 acres of land, 10,000 are government-owned forests; 12,000 acres are private land where the Forest Department has planted forests while 3,000 acres of land have been identified in Azad Kashmir. In the next phase, the tea plantation would be extended to all tea-cultivable land of the country, as per the government plan.

“As per latest available data, Pakistan has great potential for growing tea as the country has 180,000 acres of tea cultivable land. The country has suitable regions like Mansehra, Batagram and Malakand to cultivate tea,” according to an expert.

Pakistan spent $600 million annually on importing approximately 30 million tonnes tea from 15 different tea-producing countries. The country has a huge potential for tea cultivation but the biggest hindrance to starting the tea industry is the requirement of big investment in initial phase.

Olive cultivation

Pakistan can become self-sufficient in edible oil within a decade if the immense potential of olive farming and millions of wild olive trees across Pakistan is realised.

“If harnessed to its full potential, indigenous olive oil production in the country can help save a staggering $4.5 billion spent annually on importing edible oil and lead to a thriving olive export market,” says an expert.

About 5.6 million new olive trees across 50,000 acres of land in Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab planted in the past few years. Two million of these plants are already yielding fruit and producing several tons of olive oil for local consumption and export.

It is pertinent to note that Pakistan spent up to $4.5 billion annually on edible oil imports and this can be saved by promoting olive cultivation in the country.

“Pakistan’s Promotion of Olive Cultivation, in collaboration with Italy, is pursuing a large-scale cultivation of olive trees across the country and planting 500,000 to 800,000 nursery plants every year,” according to an official at the ministry.

In addition, he said Pakistan has to focus on high-value crops to enhance horticulture exports in the years to come to earn more foreign exchange for the country.

Similarly, experts believe that Kiwifruit has great potential and can help more Pakistani farmers throw off poverty because the high-value crop shows better production in the country compared to other nations.

“Kiwi gets 30kgs to 35kgs of fruits per plant internationally, while Pakistani kiwi gets 40kgs to 45kgs of fruit production on average. Some plants even give 100 kg of fruits per plant,” according to a report.

At present, kiwifruit planting area reached 28,800 hectares in Pakistan after successful trails of imported kiwi plants at various locations in KP, Islamabad and the Punjab.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtyimes.com