Pakistan seeks Chinese backing to revive agricultural research, expand farm modernization

Pakistan has sought expanded Chinese support to modernize its agriculture sector, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday proposing a deeper institutional partnership between the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council.

Speaking at a Pakistan-China agricultural cooperation workshop in Beijing, the prime minister said Pakistan wanted Chinese assistance in revitalizing agricultural research institutions, introducing modern farming technologies and strengthening scientific collaboration.

He described agriculture as central to Pakistan’s economy and said research-driven reforms would be necessary to improve productivity, strengthen rural development and support long-term economic growth.

Prime Minister Shehbaz said PARC required urgent restructuring and called for CAAS to play a leading role in helping modernize Pakistan’s agricultural research system.

“The roadmap is absolutely clear that PARC is dormant,” he said, adding that Pakistan needed to rebuild research centres through modern scientific practices, innovation and fresh talent.

The prime minister said Pakistan would continue sending 1,000 agriculture graduates from all four provinces to Chinese universities for advanced training in agricultural sciences and modern farming techniques.

He said the programme was aimed at equipping young Pakistanis with technical expertise that could later be applied to domestic agricultural reforms.

The discussions come as Pakistan and China move to expand cooperation under the CPEC 2.0 framework, with agriculture emerging as one of the priority sectors in bilateral economic engagement.

Prime Minister Shehbaz said his recent meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang focused on accelerating cooperation in agriculture, science, innovation and rural development.

During the workshop, CAAS President Huang Sanwen said the institution had already trained more than 300 Pakistani master’s and PhD students and hosted three meetings of the Pakistan-China Joint Working Group on Agriculture.

Separately, officials outlined plans to establish five Centres of Excellence at PARC with Chinese collaboration in areas including genomic crop research, livestock improvement, climate-smart agriculture, sustainable land and water management, and food processing.

According to officials, the proposed centres would be financed by Pakistan, while technical cooperation and institutional planning support have been sought from CAAS.

Prime Minister Shehbaz also received an honorary professorship from CAAS during the visit as Pakistan and China mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.