Since independence, the agriculture sector of Pakistan has been a major contributor to the economy. Agriculture used to be one of the most dominant sectors in Pakistan during the early days after independence, and it still is, to a great extent. However, with the shifts in environmental and climatic conditions, and lack of interest from the development and social sector, Pakistan’s production yield has drastically decreased. With countries pushing towards enforcing eco-friendly methods, authorities in Pakistan seem to have realised the importance of self-sustainability. Currently we have been witnessing some initiatives by the government as well as corporates to revamp the industry.
Recently, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry told the Senate that 500 technology-based farms of different sizes would be established to strengthen the agriculture sector on modern lines. As per reports, technology-based practices at these farms will help optimise per acre yield. This initiative will ultimately bring about a revolution in the lives of small farmers and help them generate high quality produce and increase their overall yield. Moreover, the farms would be facilitated with technology packages including drones, water censors, pesticides censors, packaging facility, seed selection, etc.
It is indeed a good sign that the government is concerned about this issue and has taken significant steps for its advancement. However, the one thing that authorities need to take into consideration is that new systems should not only be self-sufficient but also resilient, since the future remains uncertain. Let us hope that this initiative turns out to be a stepping stone towards future technological and agricultural development.
Muhammad Rohail Hassan
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2020.
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