–CPEC’s second phase offers chance for Pakistan’s agriculture sector to recover only if targets and strategies carefully madeISLAMABAD: With the second phase of the multi-billion-dollar China, Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) launched, Pakistan would now have opportunities to collaborate with China and 60 other countries partnering in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Khan rued that Pakistan was a food exporting country till 2013 but became a food importing country thereafter. However, he observed that CPEC’s second phase offers a good opportunity to help the agriculture sector to recover, but the onus largely lies with the nation to set targets and strategies carefully in order to benefit from the forthcoming opportunities. The PARC chairman was all for alleviating the agriculture sector via business-oriented model, which in his opinion, could only be done through value addition i.e. The country is a net importer of bulk agriculture products and there has been rapid growth in its imports from Belt and Road countries off-late.

Source: Pakistan Today January 27, 2020 16:46 UTC