October 31, 2018 (MLN): Prime Minister Imran Khan apprised that strengthening cooperation with China in agriculture would be one of the priority agenda of his forthcoming visit to China.
At a meeting on agriculture, chaired by PM Khan himself, he said that Pakistan could greatly benefit from the Chinese expertise in the agriculture sector. He emphasized on the need to support farmers and help them in adopting best practices along with requisite support in provision of finances and mechanization process.
At this meeting held at the Prime minister house, Khan was informed that the country’s agriculture has been stagnant for past many decades and little work was done to assist the farmers in crop diversification, enhancement of yields and mechanization of agriculture sector.
He was also informed that as part of his government’s agenda of placing greater focus on the agriculture sector, various projects were being planned to increase crop yield and productivity, to shift focus towards exports and encouraging crop diversification.
These projects include increase in yields of major crops and adoption of oilseeds; optimum utilization of water resources; harnessing untapped potential of fisheries; restructuring of livestock business model; transforming agriculture produce markets and increasing access to finance for the farmers.
Expressing concern over the existing state of affairs, the Prime Minister said that boosting agricultural sector is a major plank of the government’s agenda.
