Pakistan to open two-day International Conference on Agriculture in Karachi today

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will be hosting a two-day International Conference on Agriculture in the southern port city of Karachi on Oct. 29-30 aiming to improve production through modern technology, Pakistani state media reported on Monday.
The conference is being organized under the Green Pakistan Initiative of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a civil-military hybrid forum established in 2023 to boost foreign investment.
The Green Pakistan Initiative focuses on water conservation, sustainable farming, and agricultural research and development in the South Asian country through modern technology and innovative approaches.
“Experts from Pakistan’s sustainable agriculture ecosystem will discuss organic farming and development of sustainable agriculture [at the conference],” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and constitutes its largest sector. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), agriculture contributes about 24 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for half of the employed labor force in the country.
Provincial agriculture departments will also highlight their achievements in the field of agriculture at their respective pavilions at the conference.
The conference comes at a time when Pakistan is seeking to boost production to increase its agricultural exports to overcome a prolonged economic crisis.
In June, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country was looking forward to benefit from China’s agricultural prowess and modernization as he visited the Chinese city of Xi’an.
Sharif toured the Yangling Institute of Modern Agriculture and said his government was keen to explore new avenues of cooperation in agriculture to enhance Pakistan’s food productivity and quality.