Global Courant
ISLAMABAD
Pakistan launched a project Friday to convert millions of hectares of uncultivated waste state land into arable land to tackle food insecurity issues.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the Land Information and Management System – Center of Excellence to improve food security, according to a statement from his office.
Pakistan said it will convert 4.4 million hectares (10.9 million acres) of approximately 9 million hectares of uncultivated land into arable fertile land using Modern Agricultural Technologies.
“This state-of-the-art System will help optimize agricultural production through innovative technologies and sustainable precision farming practices, based on the agro-ecological potential of the soil, while ensuring the well-being of rural communities and protecting the environment.” Sheriff.
Pakistan is an agriculture-based economy, with the agricultural sector contributing 23% to GDP and employing about 37.4% of the country’s workforce.
According to the official documents of the project currently in the hands of Anatolia, while the cultivated area is decreasing, the population-production gap is increasing and agricultural imports exceed 10 billion dollars, causing economic stress.
According to the World Food Programme, 36.9% of Pakistanis lack food security and 18.3% of this number are facing a serious food crisis.
A wheat crisis is also escalating with total wheat demand reaching 30.8 million metric tons (MMT), while current production is about 26.4 million tons, a shortfall of about 4 million metric tons.
According to the documents, “Cotton production fell 40% from 14.8 m bales in the last 10 years to ~5 million bales.”
With the new project, the government, with the support of the armed forces, will increase agricultural growth and production to use more than 9 million hectares of uncultivated waste state land in various stages.
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