Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed authorities to formulate a comprehensive five-year strategy to boost agricultural exports, stressing reforms, higher yields, and compliance with international standards.

Chairing a meeting of a working group comprising private-sector experts, the prime minister said agriculture reform was a top government priority. He underlined the need to educate farmers on global requirements to make Pakistani produce competitive in export markets.

He said the federal government was undertaking reforms within its mandate and working with provincial governments to promote agricultural development. Measures include timely and affordable access to quality seeds, fertilisers and pesticides to raise per-acre yields.

The prime minister said policy-level steps were also being taken to promote processing and value addition so agricultural produce could be exported as finished goods.

He noted that 1,000 Pakistani students had recently been sent to China at government expense to train in modern agricultural technologies.

Highlighting Pakistan’s potential, PM Shehbaz said investments were being made, within available resources, to strengthen agricultural research and improve productivity. He also called for steps to expand exports of fisheries and horticulture products.

He directed relevant authorities to present policy measures for palm oil cultivation along the coastal belt.

The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Dr Musadik Malik, Muhammad Aurangzeb and Attaullah Tarar, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar, and senior officials.

Working Group Chairman Rana Naseem briefed the meeting on sectoral challenges and a proposed plan of action.

Participants were given a comparative regional and global overview of major Rabi and Kharif crops, per-acre yields, horticulture and fruit exports, livestock and dairy sectors.

Officials said short-term reforms would focus on increasing average yields within existing resources. The federal and provincial governments will jointly strengthen extension services and promote modern farming practices.

The meeting was also informed that a certification regime for processed agricultural commodities was being planned to support value addition and improve access to global markets. A roadmap for reforming research institutions was presented to boost productivity and promote new, climate-suitable crops.

The prime minister welcomed the briefing and directed that a practical, effective and comprehensive roadmap be finalised and incorporated into the government’s reform agenda.