ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is planning a comprehensive overhaul of its agricultural research system to improve productivity, strengthen food security and increase export competitiveness, said an official statement on Wednesday.

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain discussed the reform plan during a meeting with Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Chairman Syed Murtaza Hassan Andrabi, it said.

The initiative comes as Pakistan seeks to modernize its agriculture sector, which contributes about a fifth of the country’s economic output and employs a large share of its workforce but has long struggled with low productivity and weak technology adoption.

Hussain said the reform would address inefficiencies caused by overlapping mandates between federal and provincial research institutions and encourage closer collaboration across scientific disciplines.

“Research must move beyond siloed structures and adopt cross-disciplinary approaches, ensuring practical and commercially viable outcomes,” the minister said.

He also stressed the need to accelerate technology transfer from laboratories to farms and markets, noting that innovations such as vaccines had historically taken years to reach commercialization.

PARC chairman Andrabi said the country’s research priorities should directly support economic and food security objectives.

“Pakistan’s national research agendas must be aligned with export targets and food security goals, ensuring that all research efforts directly contribute to national priorities,” he said.

Under the reform plan, Pakistan will establish specialized Centers of Excellence focusing on climate-resilient crops, livestock improvement, food processing, artificial intelligence and precision agriculture, as well as sustainable land and water management.

The government also plans to introduce a Digital National Agricultural Research Information System (NARIS) platform to serve as a centralized repository for research data and collaboration among institutions.

Officials said a new scientific advisory committee, comprising both local and international experts, would be formed to guide strategic priorities and benchmark Pakistan’s research system against global standards.