ISLAMABAD: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry has requested Chinese authorities to assist Pakis–tan’s agriculture sector to overcome the effect of climate change by initiating projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Chairman of the FPCCI’s Regional Standing Comm–ittee Ahmad Jawad said on Saturday that China had performed remarkably in agriculture and in a short time it had become the largest exporter of agriculture and horticulture products to Asia and Europe.

Talking to media after a meeting with private sector companies affiliated with agricultural products, Mr Jawad said it was the need of the hour to revamp the agriculture sector in accordance with modern trends to increase production and make it profitable.

“Agriculture, including new seed and variety development, lags far behind in Pakistan compared to rest of the world,” he said, adding that the country could benefit from joint ventures in this sector.

He said the government should promote mechanised agriculture to enhance the cultivated area while quality seed production, especially that of wheat and cotton, was needed to increase the growth rate up to four per cent.

At the same time the country was suffering 20 to 40pc post-harvest losses for which it had to promote modern practices, he added.

“Amid climate change, we have to invest in breeding to develop climate-resilient varieties,” he said.

Mr Jawad assured the support of FPCCI in seeking investments in the agri-sector, but asked the agricultural experts to come up with out-of-the-box solutions to the issues facing the sector and the farming community.

He said Pakistan was located at a geographically important place from where it could easily export its agricultural produce to Central Asia, the Middle East, China and other countries which had large food markets.

“But at the same time, Pakistan is among top 11 counties of the world that are most vulnerable to effects of climate change,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2017