ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday Pakistan could revive its economy within a year by focusing on the agriculture and livestock sectors, urging rapid adoption of modern technology and greater value addition to capitalize on the country’s untapped potential.
Agriculture and livestock are among the largest contributors to Pakistan’s economy and employ a significant share of the country’s workforce.
Sharif said the sector’s weak performance stemmed not from a lack of natural resources but from inadequate investment in modern tools and research, adding that cooperation with China would help modernize agricultural institutions and build technical capacity.
“Agriculture and livestock constitute the single sector where, if we work with complete, undivided focus, we can revive our economy within a single year,” Sharif said during a national seminar on livestock in Islamabad.
The prime minister said Pakistan had been blessed with fertile land, abundant water resources and hardworking farmers across the country, but continued to lag behind regional competitors because of outdated practices and insufficient use of modern technology.
“Pakistan is ranked as the fourth largest milk-producing country in the world,” he continued. “Yet, what is our level of value addition in this area? Take meat as another example. The global trade of meat is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Our potential... is immense.”
Sharif said discussions were progressing with China on transforming the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) following his visits to the country, where he sought Chinese collaboration in modernizing Pakistan’s agricultural research sector.
He said artificial intelligence, information technology and other modern technologies could help transform Pakistan’s agriculture and livestock industries, calling on the federal and provincial governments to work together to unlock the sector’s economic potential.
