Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Assistant Director-General and Director of the Animal Production and Health Division, Thanawat Tiensin, has recommended that Pakistan should adopt Brazil’s agricultural model, which transformed the country from food insecurity to a global food exporter through innovation and research.
As per media reports, he made this suggestion during a meeting with Pakistan’s Minister for National Food Security and Research, Rana Tanveer Hussain, in Islamabad. The two officials discussed ongoing collaborative efforts and explored further opportunities to strengthen Pakistan’s agriculture and livestock sectors.
Brazil’s success, Tiensin noted, lies in its use of research-driven advancements and technological improvements in productivity, which helped expand cultivated land and enhance agricultural outputs suited to local conditions.
Minister Tanveer expressed Pakistan’s commitment to revitalizing the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, aligning it with the prime minister’s vision for a science-driven approach to agricultural development. The minister also discussed plans to expand collaborations with leading research institutions in China and Pakistan.
Pakistan’s government has developed a National Agricultural Innovation and Growth Action Plan, which aims to boost farmers’ incomes, increase production, and implement reforms for the agriculture sector.
In a recent meeting on agricultural sector reforms, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized that sustainable reforms would enhance economic development, increase per-acre yield, and lower production costs.
The FAO official acknowledged the potential of Pakistan’s livestock sector and praised the government’s efforts to address disease control, food safety, and export readiness. Tanveer shared Pakistan’s recent steps toward institutional development, such as the establishment of the National Agri-Trade and Food Safety Authority (NAFSA), which is modeled on Egypt’s successful framework.
Pakistan plans to send a technical delegation to Egypt to study its institutional mechanisms and best practices.
Discussions also included FAO’s long-standing partnership with Pakistan, which began in 1947 and now involves projects in 94 districts. Tanveer acknowledged FAO’s vital role in providing global best practices, technical expertise, and policy support, particularly in bolstering animal health systems and disease response capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
