Punjab plans AI integration to boost farm productivity

Business Recorder reported that the Punjab government intends to bring artificial intelligence into the routine work of farmers, arguing that data and technology can lift crop output and earnings. Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Osama Leghari made the remarks as chief guest at the Agri Connections Conference and Expo, staged at Lahore's Expo Centre on Thursday. He expressed hope that, within the two and a half years left in the current term, a foundation would be laid so farmers can use AI to forecast their yields and productivity.

Adnan Pasha, an adviser to the federal finance minister, said Pakistan faces climate change and population growth as its two existential threats, both tied to food and water security. He projected the population could reach 370 million or 390 million within two decades, which he framed as an opportunity. He added that farm transformation cannot be funded by the public sector alone and called for public-private partnerships in which government supplies the ecosystem and a risk-sharing base.

Olivier Durand of the World Bank said Pakistan's farm output is highly fragmented compared with several other countries, with many small farmers poorly linked to markets and processors. Kazim Saeed of the Pakistan Agricultural Coalition said wheat, cotton and lentils are being imported even though they have been grown for generations.