Pak-US Green Alliance to Revolutionise the Agriculture sector

The country’s population growth and rate of urbanisation are increasing the burden on the agriculture sector to increase production and respond to a changing and diversifying food consumption pattern. Despite considerable public spending with assistance from development partners, the agriculture growth rate slowed from an average of over 4% per year between 1970-2000 to below 3% after that (World Bank,2022). The agriculture sector is not performing at its full potential due to a distorted supply chain in agricultural markets, significant government intervention, misallocation of subsidies and a lack of innovative strategies to enhance agricultural productivity.                                                                  

To address the agriculture sector’s issues, the Pakistani government has taken many steps to achieve its potential target. Recently, the government introduced its first-ever artificial intelligence-based agriculture smart farm aimed to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to tackle climate change and help farmers to take action beforehand. Also, an agri-tech smart farm has been introduced to promote digital agriculture in Pakistan to increase per-acre production, which will help eliminate poverty and ensure food security in the country. Despite all these reforms, the country’s agriculture sector needs an innovative approach to utilise its full potential.

In this regard, several development partners have planned to invest in Pakistan’s agriculture sector to help the country to boost its agri-productivity. The United States (US) has recently shown interest in investing in different sectors, including agriculture, to revolutionise the country’s agriculture sector. This Pak-US green alliance aims to promote Pakistan’s agriculture sector with US expertise and help build goodwill between the two countries. Under the green coalition, the US government, universities, research institutes and the private sector will address the issues related to Pakistan’s agriculture sector. To revolutionise the farming sector, the government of Pakistan needs more innovative reforms, a concrete strategy with delineated goals and a coordinated approach among all stakeholders, including government departments, universities and the private sector.