Agriculture, research, biosecurity: Pakistan, Australia agree to boost cooperation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Australia agreed on Thursday to strengthen cooperation in agriculture, research, biosecurity, water management, and agricultural trade.

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain met with Dr. Suzie Newman, General Manager Partnerships, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and the Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan. Both discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation in agricultural research, climate resilience, biosecurity, water management and agricultural trade.

Both sides discussed the potential for enhanced technical cooperation in climate- and weather-based pest forecasting, GIS-based surveillance, early-warning systems, invasive pest management and locust preparedness, including environmentally sustainable approaches to pest control.

They also agreed to identify new demand-driven and outcome-oriented research initiatives aligned with Pakistan’s agricultural and food-security requirements, with emphasis on capacity building, researcher exchanges, technical expertise and practical solutions for farmers.

The minister stressed the need to translate research into practical, scalable and farmer-oriented solutions, particularly in climate-resilient agriculture, water management, crop improvement, horticulture and agricultural value chains.

Dr. Suzie Newman highlighted its focus on demand-driven, locally led research, capacity building and translating research outcomes into practical benefits for farmers and the wider agricultural sector.

The minister said that agricultural biosecurity and plant health are key areas for expanded cooperation and proposed collaboration in pest identification, molecular diagnostics, DNA bar-coding, pest surveillance, risk analysis, quarantine management and modern digital plant-health systems.

The meeting also reviewed the ACIAR-funded Water Resilience and Livelihood Improvement in the Southern Indus Basin project. The Federal Minister stressed stronger involvement of relevant Pakistani research institutions to enhance technical implementation, national ownership and sustainability of the project.

The Australian side also appreciated Pakistan’s continued engagement in technical exchanges, capacity-building programmes and institutional cooperation, and emphasized the value of collaboration among research institutions, government agencies and agricultural stakeholders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026