The State of Pakistan’s Agriculture 2024

This is a time of hope for Pakistan’s agriculture sector. The corporate and financial sector is looking at agriculture as a business prospect and the country needs agriculture to turn its macro-economic imbalance around. Yet there are many questions among corporate and financial sector players about how to enter the business of agriculture and its related sub-sectors. To address these questions and apprehensions, this report presents case studies of a mix of corporate players: some that have built their agricultural linkages over decades and others that have begun moving into agriculture in recent years. There are textile players, rice exporters, food companies, input suppliers, bankers, insurers, agriprocessors, and a Chinese conglomerate operating under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This diverse group is united by the willingness to make bold plays in the agriculture sector whether their driver is the depreciation of the rupee, a commercial need, a diversification strategy or a corporate strategic priority.

The case studies showcase plays across the agricultural landscape by players from across the corporate and financial sector:

• field crops (wheat, cotton),
• horticulture (tomato, potato),
• condiments (sesame),
• dairy,
• poultry,
• fisheries (fish, shrimp),
• insurance,
• services to farmers,
• and regenerative agriculture.

• They cover Pakistan’s largest food converter National Foods opting for import substitution of tomato paste through tomato cultivation;
• Fatima Group’s work on seed development for Pakistan’s leading field crops (wheat and cotton); PepsiCo’s leadership in maintaining potato farmers’ loyalty for its production of Lays crisps;
• K&N’s long history of spearheading the development of Pakistan’s poultry industry from breeding of chickens all the way to retail of poultry-based consumer products;
• HBL Zarai’s end-to-end service provision model to benefit farmers;
• rice export leader Garibsons and agro-chemicals/high-efficiency irrigation services giant Jaffer Brothers teaming up to invest in fish and shrimp seed;
• textile conglomerate AlKaram investing in a huge shrimp farming and processing facility for exports;
• Chinese conglomerate CMEC’s successful development of sesame exports to China using CPEC,
• dairy giant FrieslandCampina Engro’s empowerment of women dairy farmers;
• the development of robust and reliable crop insurance by TPL Insurance;
• and the shining example of regenerative farming by agri-processor Thal Industries