He was chairing a high-level meeting on promotion of agriculture sector and agricultural exports in Islamabad.
The Prime Minister directed Pakistan’s commercial officers posted at its missions abroad to play an effective role in promoting the country's agricultural exports.
Shehbaz Sharif directed that an effective media campaign be launched to raise awareness among farmers about the mobile application available for monitoring crops.
He emphasized that value addition in agricultural products is essential for increasing agricultural exports.
He noted that agricultural sector plays a key role in the growth and stability of Pakistan’s economy. He emphasized the need for effective coordination and partnership between the federal and provincial governments for increasing per-acre agricultural productivity, introducing innovation in agriculture, developing the livestock sector and promoting agricultural exports.
The meeting was informed that Pakistan’s agricultural exports stood at 5.18 billion dollars during the last fiscal year. Rice, fisheries, halal meat, potatoes, sesame, tobacco, mangoes, and maize were among Pakistan’s major agricultural exports.
The meeting proposed the development of value chains to increase agricultural exports. A Digital Farmers’ Diary -Agri Stack was proposed, under which farmers across the country and agricultural land records will be digitized.
It was informed National Agriculture and Food Security Council will be activated, and the Chief Ministers will represent their respective provinces in the council.
The meeting was also informed that Pakistan Good Agriculture Practices (Pak-GAP) system will be developed to promote agricultural practices that deliver better results.