Islamabad: Australia has announced new agricultural research projects in Pakistan during a visit by Professor Andrew Campbell, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR).
The new projects continue ACIAR’s 35-year history of research and development activity to improve the livelihoods of rural communities in Pakistan
Australia’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Dr Geoffrey Shaw, said ACIAR’s work in the agriculture sector was a key component of Australia’s engagement with Pakistan.
“As a leading agriculture exporter, with world-class expertise in agricultural research, we see great scope to cooperate in building Pakistan’s agricultural capacity,” Dr Shaw said.
The new initiatives are: (i) A 10-year program on salinity management to build the adaptive capacity of stakeholders and improve livelihoods of farming and coastal communities, (ii) A research project to deepen understanding of rural transformation in China, Indonesia, Myanmar and Pakistan whose results will inform policy making, and (iii) A project aimed at developing competitive and socially inclusive value chains for development of pulses production in Pakistan.
“ACIAR projects can change the lives of farmers across Pakistan,” Professor Campbell said. “We look forward to developing our long-term partnership with Pakistan for research and development that will improve the productivity and resilience of agriculture in Pakistan.”
ACIAR is an Australian Government agency that specialises in international agricultural research for development and currently supports 13 projects in Pakistan, spanning all regions of the country.
Working closely with Pakistan’s Federal Government, provincial departments, non-government
organisations, academia, and the private sector, ACIAR funds research and technical capacity building on livestock and dairy, climate change, cereal productivity, crop diversification and land and water management practices.