Arooj Zulfiqar

The Zari Taraqiati Bank limited (ZTBL) will collaborate with the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council to up-scale its innovative technologies to improve farming, reports WealthPk. “Adaptation or upscaling of novel technologies is essential for the betterment of the farming community or to boost farm productivity,” said an expert from the PARC who wished to remain anonymous.

He said, “The PARC and ZTBL enter into a cooperative venture in which the former provides technical expertise and the latter will provide loans. This technical and financial combination will aid in the transformation of agriculture, improving the farmers’ livelihoods.”

“Although agriculture is considered the country’s backbone, it has been plagued by a number of challenges, including lack of research, inadequate technology, high input costs, lack of water, and reduction in the quantity of land available for cultivation.” “As a result, the increased agricultural output needs the use of novel strategies. Because of its strong forward and backward ties with the secondary (industrial) and tertiary (services) sectors, it can play a critical role in encouraging economic growth,” said the official.

“The land tenure system in rural Pakistan is one of the major obstacles to the adoption of technology. Approximately one-third of the country’s farmers do not own the land they work on. The farmers pay high rent for the land they cultivate, making farming a low-profit activity.”

He said, “It is critical to provide smallholders with effective agricultural extension services and to provide institutional credit for agricultural development. Greater investment in agricultural research for increased productivity will result in lower production cost per unit of output and higher profitability.” “As a means of enhancing food security, small farmers can be connected to markets rapidly to increase their incomes.

Development and use of new technologies are often key to scaling up the level of activity all along the value chain and increasing impacts in terms of greater productivity, market competitiveness, reduced post-harvest loss and waste, and improved nutrition,” said the PARC official.

In this regard, the ZTBL will collaborate with the PARC for the upscaling of the latter’s innovative farming technologies to improve crop yield per acre. The bank will provide financial assistance to the PARC to expand its research outreach to the farmers’ doorsteps across the country to improve their livelihood opportunities.

Both organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a collaborative relationship in promoting and adopting the latest agricultural technologies, best crop management practices, and agricultural mechanization for improved farm efficiency and the benefit of the farming community.

Under this MoU, both will collaborate to conduct awareness webinars, field days, seminars, and workshops to disseminate the latest developments in the agriculture sector in order to improve the farming community’s livelihood, and both parties will also form partnerships to run joint ventures, pilot projects, and research activities.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk