ISLAMABAD, Aug 7 (ABC): Pakistan has received 258 units of advanced agricultural machinery and irrigation equipment from China under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) cooperation to support the modernisation of the country’s agriculture sector.
According to official documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council’s (PARC) Agricultural Engineering Institute at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) received and assembled the equipment before formally inaugurating and distributing it to PARC and provincial governments for technology demonstration and adoption.
The package comprises nine categories of machinery and equipment. These include 40 tractors, 20 rotary tillers, 30 rotary tillage fertilizer drills, 40 crawler-type rice-wheat combine harvesters, eight corn harvesters, 40 inter-tillage weeders, 40 trimmers, 20 hose reel irrigation systems and 20 photovoltaic water pumping systems.
Of the total 258 units, 75 were distributed to Punjab, 45 to Sindh, 38 to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 36 to Balochistan and 64 to PARC.
Mechanisation under reform programme
The machinery forms part of the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Modernization Initiative, a flagship programme to transform Pakistan’s agriculture into a modern, technology-driven, climate-resilient and export-oriented sector.
The initiative aims to increase productivity, strengthen food security, promote value addition and improve the competitiveness of Pakistan’s agri-food system.
The recently approved National Agricultural Biotechnology Policy 2026 and National Seed Policy 2026 support the initiative. These policies provide a framework for accelerating the development and commercialisation of improved crop varieties, promoting biotechnology and genome-based research, strengthening the national seed system, encouraging private-sector investment, improving quality assurance and expanding access to climate-resilient, high-yielding varieties.
Pakistan-China research collaboration
A key component of the initiative is strategic collaboration between PARC and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS).
The federal government granted in-principle approval in March 2026 to restructure PARC on the lines of CAAS. It also constituted a dedicated working group to oversee the transformation.
The restructuring plan includes the establishment of five Centres of Excellence at NARC, Islamabad. These centres will focus on genome-based research in field and horticultural crops, livestock improvement and health management, climate-smart solutions for land, water and energy, artificial intelligence in agri-food systems, and food processing and value addition.
The initiative also includes a Centre of Excellence for Advanced Agricultural Mechanization and Digital Agriculture at PARC in collaboration with CAAS. The centre will support research, testing, demonstration and commercialisation of precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), drones and climate-smart agricultural machinery.
Capacity building and training
The ministry is also pursuing a broader agricultural mechanisation strategy. It includes developing a National Agricultural Mechanization Policy, strengthening indigenous machinery research, establishing a national machinery testing and certification system, promoting local manufacturing of advanced farm machinery, expanding Custom Hiring Centres through public-private partnerships, strengthening post-harvest mechanisation and enhancing the capacity of agricultural engineers through specialised training.
Another major component of the initiative is the Prime Minister’s programme to train 1,000 Pakistani agricultural graduates in China.
So far, 885 graduates have completed specialised training, while the remaining 115 are expected to depart shortly, completing the programme.
The training covers nine priority areas, including aquaculture, crop breeding and genomics, farm mechanisation, fruit and vegetable processing, high-efficiency irrigation systems, drones, artificial intelligence and IoT, livestock breeding and genomics, livestock disease surveillance, and seed production and processing technologies.
According to the documents, the trained graduates will serve as master trainers. They will transfer modern agricultural knowledge and technologies to farmers, extension services, researchers and educational institutions across Pakistan. The programme is expected to accelerate the adoption of hybrid seeds, precision agriculture, mechanisation, water-efficient technologies and value-added processing while strengthening agricultural productivity and competitiveness.
