Islamabad, June 3 (Agency) Pakistan’s Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has said this country would adopt state-of-the-art techniques in the agricultural sector for economic growth of the country. “Agriculture is the backbone of the national economy and introducing the latest techniques and technology in the agriculture sector holds key importance for boosting the economy,” the minister said while chairing a meeting on agriculture on Friday. He said that the government has been taking measures to prevent the agriculture sector from being affected by the negative impacts of climate change, besides promoting research and introducing modern technology for better production.
Pakistan has immense potential to further progress in the agriculture sector for which research is being promoted to increase the productivity of crops, Iqbal said, adding that revolution in the sector is needed to meet future challenges. While highlighting that Pakistan imports agricultural commodities worth 10 billion U.S. dollars annually, the minister said that special agricultural initiatives have been launched to achieve self-sufficiency in the agriculture sector and promote exports of its products. “We have to generate billions of dollars in exports from the agricultural sector … there exist bright prospects for exporting agricultural commodities and livestock to China and Middle East countries,” Iqbal added.