Because of
the importance of the Agriculture in the national economy, food security and in
alleviation of poverty for Pakistan, it has been included as area of
cooperation in the Long-Term Plan of China Pakistan Economic Corridor.” said
Mr. Sartaj Aziz while presiding over a meeting with Chinese delegation led by
Mr. Dend Ben Tai, Vice Chairman of Standing Committee regarding Agriculture and
Animal Husbandry.
Mr. Sartaj Aziz welcomed the
delegation and said its good time to enhance the level of cooperation in
various sectors including agriculture, which has great potential, under the
on-going CPEC projects. Previously, agriculture sector was over 50% contributor
of Pakistan’s GDP and now it’s around 20% with average growth rate of over 4 %
in last 40 years. He said irrigation system and green revolution played
effective role in maintaining high growth rate and it helped Pakistan in
self-sufficiency of food. In the 21st century and onward the growth
momentum have not been maintained largely due to low investments and technology
penetration.
Deputy Chairman Planning Commission
said Pakistan has great potential to export dairy products and meat to China to
help meets its high food demands. In this regard, China can facilitate in
production and processing of food items as per their requirement and need by
emphasizing on livestock and horticulture sector. Therefore, Pakistan also
wants to develop overall agriculture with the technical assistance of China to
achieve productivity as per potential of the sector.
Mr. Dend Ben Tai said that China is
also interested in enhancing level of cooperation in agriculture sector with
Pakistan and the recommendations will be forwarded to joint working group of
CPEC to proceed further in these sectors. This would enable both the countries
to start working together to achieve the set goals.
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