Punjab Wants Farmers to Use AI

Punjab government aims to integrate artificial intelligence into farmers' daily lives by leveraging data and technology to forecast yields and productivity. During the Pakistan Agricultural Coalition's Agri Connections Conference and Expo in Lahore, Parliamentary Secretary Osama Leghari expressed the government's commitment to this vision for the next two and a half years of its term. Leghari emphasized the importance of a data and technological revolution in agriculture.

The government has designated this year as "the Year of the Value Chain," encouraging businesses to collaborate with farmers and enhance product value, ensuring farmers receive higher profits while businesses profit as well. Advisor to the Federal Finance Minister, Adnan Pasha, highlighted two major long-term challenges facing Pakistan beyond traditional security concerns: climate change and population growth.

He noted that these challenges are intricately connected to food security, water security, and wider social issues.

Pasha projected that Pakistan's population could surge to 370 million to 390 million within the next two decades, presenting both risks and opportunities. To finance agricultural transformation, Pasha stressed the need for public-private partnerships, where the government establishes the ecosystem and a risk-sharing framework, rather than relying solely on the public sector balance sheet.

He identified certified climate-resilient seeds as a critical area that requires private investment in multiplication, processing, testing, and distribution.

Pune-based advisor, Kazim Saeed, highlighted that Pakistan is currently importing commodities it has historically produced, such as wheat, cotton, and lentils. Exports remain below potential due to low competitiveness and food safety concerns. At a session organized by the World Bank on food security amid evolving trade dynamics, Olivier Durand, lead agriculture specialist at the World Bank, emphasized the highly fragmented nature of Pakistan's agricultural production, with many small farmers lacking connections to markets, processors, and off-takers.