Thu, September 17, 2026
Islamabad (Web Desk): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday called for closer cooperation between the federal and provincial governments to raise agricultural output, encourage modern farming techniques, strengthen the livestock industry and increase the country’s agricultural exports.
He was speaking while presiding over a high-level meeting convened to review ways of developing the agriculture sector and expanding its export potential.
PM Shehbaz directed relevant authorities to work together to secure greater access for Pakistani agricultural commodities in international markets and to identify fresh destinations for exports.
He also directed Pakistan’s commercial officers stationed at diplomatic missions overseas to take a more proactive role in showcasing and promoting the country’s agricultural products abroad
PM Shehbaz further ordered the launch of a comprehensive media campaign to educate farmers about a mobile application that enables them to monitor their crops and keep track of agricultural activity.
He stressed that processing agricultural commodities and increasing their value before export was crucial to generating higher foreign earnings from the sector.
The premier said that agriculture remained one of the key drivers of Pakistan’s economy and played an important role in maintaining economic growth and stability.
The meeting reviewed a number of recommendations aimed at improving agricultural development and strengthening the country’s export performance.
Officials told the participants that Pakistan’s agricultural exports reached $5.18 billion in the last financial year.
The country’s leading agricultural export items included rice, fisheries, halal meat, potatoes, sesame, tobacco, mangoes and maize.
The participants also discussed the creation of integrated value chains as a means of increasing the volume and competitiveness of agricultural exports.
As per the briefing, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Gulf states were identified as significant markets for Pakistani agricultural products. It was also decided that the National Agriculture and Food Security Council would be made operational.
It was informed during the briefing that the chief ministers would serve as representatives of their respective provinces on the National Agriculture and Food Security Council.
Officials also presented a proposal for introducing the Digital Farmers’ Diary-Agri Stack, a nationwide initiative aimed at digitising farmers’ information and agricultural land records. The proposed system would additionally maintain digital data concerning soil and water testing.
The meeting further considered establishing a Pakistan-Good Agriculture Practices (Pak-GAP) system to encourage farming techniques that could deliver improved productivity and better outcomes.
It was also proposed that financing facilities for the agriculture sector be enhanced to assist exporters and support the expansion of agricultural trade.
Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Climate Change Musadik Masood Malik, Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan, Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azam Khan Kiani, Minister of State for National Food Security Malik Rasheed Ahmad, and senior officials from the relevant government departments attended the meeting.
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