Rabel Sadozai is the first female Director of Marketing and Sales in Pakistan’s fertilizer industry and agricultural sector. She holds an MBA degree from IBA Karachi and with over 23 years of diverse professional experience, has held several leadership positions in the petrochemical and banking sectors prior to joining the fertilizer industry.

Her enthusiasm for innovation has been her driving force during her ten-year tenure at Fatima Fertilizer. She has propelled the company through many significant marketing milestones, including the proposal and successful implementation of Pakistan’s first-ever National Farmer’s Day, which is officially recognized by the Government of Pakistan and serves as a remarkable legacy for Fatima Group.

Her work has not only received major acclaim locally but on prestigious international platforms as well, which has positioned Sarsabz Fertilizers, the flagship brand of Fatima Fertilizer, to achieve a premium brand status. These include winning the MARCOM (USA) International Marketing Award in 2018, AVA Digital Award (USA) in 2019, the Pakistan Digital Awards (PDA) won by Fatima Fertilizer’s ‘Salam Kissan’ campaign for three consecutive years 2020, 2021 & 2022, the Asian Experience Award (Singapore) conferred on the Sarsabz Kahani Web Series in 2022, and a dedicated case study related to Fatima Fertilizer’s ‘Salam Kissan’ campaign published by Kotler in his book “Essentials of Modern Marketing” in 2022.

BR Research recently had a conversation with Rabel, touching on topics from recent agriculture production trends to modern agriculture technology and from Pakistan’s untapped potential in agriculture to Kissan Day initiatives. Below is an edited excerpt from the conversation.

BR Research: The devastating floods in Pakistan wiped out over 1.7 million hectares of agricultural land and standing crops, pushing millions into poverty. Despite the devastation, major crops such as wheat, cotton, rice, and maize have seen bumper crops this season. What in your view made this turnaround possible in such a short duration.

Rabel Sadozai: Despite the 2022 devastating floods in Pakistan, the bumper production of various crops was made possible through an integrated response by all stakeholders, hard work and resilience by the farmers, and active response by the governments and international development organizations. To top it off, the agriculture-allied industry played a pivotal role in the revival of agriculture in flood-affected areas.

Fatima Group in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization in Pakistan provided quality fertilizers and technical assistance to the affected farmers. We conducted mega farmer seminars in collaboration with respective provincial governments in multiple districts aiming to educate farmers to boost crop yields. Pakistan achieved record yields of wheat, maize, rice, sugarcane, cotton, and other crops contributing around Rs6,500 billion to the national GDP – a substantial increase of 25 percent over last year.

BRR: Given how What are the advantages of modernizing the agriculture sector and in what ways can digital technology play a role in driving and facilitating this transformation process?

RS: Despite record production this year, Pakistan’s per acre yield is far less than the global average due to limited access of farmers to modern machinery and digital support services. Regarding precision farming technologies, Pakistan has the potential to double agricultural production, which will not only ensure national food security but also add to foreign exchange earnings through agri exports.

Currently, agri products imported from Pakistan stand at more than 10 billion US dollars per annum. Moreover, digital solutions can enhance the operational efficiency of the sector by enabling farmers’ access to data-driven decision-making to mitigate the risks associated with climate change. Digital technologies can also help in bringing operational efficiency by integrating supply chain operations, access to the market, and financial inclusion. In this context, the Sarsabz Pakistan app, introduced by Fatima Fertilizers, exemplifies the impact of digital technology.

This app caters to multiple needs of the farming community by providing timely farm advisory services including free soil and water analysis facility, and crop monitoring through satellite imageries thus helping farmers maximize their crop yield and productivity.

BRR: With the looming threat of food insecurity, how crucial is the agriculture sector in achieving economic growth and ensuring adequate food production?

RS: According to provisional results of population census 2023, Pakistan’s population has clocked to around 240 million and is continuously increasing by around 6 million heads every coming year. Whereas average agricultural growth during the last decade has been a paltry 1.7 percent.

To feed the ever-growing population, Pakistan needs around 5 percent consistent annual growth in the agriculture sector. To meet this challenge of achieving national food security and economic prosperity, a two-prong approach is required, i.e. vertical growth – by increasing per acre yield of crops; and horizontal growth – by bringing more area under cultivation through corporate farming.

Pakistan has the potential to bring around 22 million acres by combining both vertical and horizontal approaches. Moreover, cotton textile goods contribute around $20 billion per annum to foreign exchange earnings. This contribution could easily be increased to $30 billion through creating an enabling environment.

BRR: What, in your opinion, are the most critical challenges presently confronting small-scale farmers, and what roadmap should be adopted to address these problems?

RS: Small-scale farmers, having a land size of under 12.5 acres, constitute 90 percent of 8.4 million farmers and occupy around 48 percent of the land. This community faces financial constraints to purchase quality inputs and timely access to farm machinery.

This community can play a big role in the economic well-being of the country if they have access to the latest technology, certified seeds, and a timely supply of quality inputs. We feel pride in sharing that Fatima Fertilizer has started working on corporate farming projects, to provide high-quality seeds of cotton, wheat, and other crops coupled with financial support for the purchase of inputs and services to increase their crops per acre yield & livelihoods.

BRR: Kissan Day celebrations have been gaining momentum every year. How has this annual event transformed the lives and livelihoods of local farmers, especially in regions facing accessibility challenges?

RS: Kissan Day has emerged as a national event, providing a platform for farmers to highlight their issues &challenges in the presence of policymakers and relevant stakeholders. Fatima Group, through its products and services, is successfully enhancing crop yields of their contact growers by more than 10 percent.

Recently, Fatima Group has started vocational training of female farmers under the ‘Sarsabz Tabeer’ program. We have trained more than 1000 female farmers in the preparation and marketing of Ketchup, jams, jellies, and marmalades. This initiative will help to save post-harvest losses of perishable fruits and vegetables which is more than 40 percent per annum. This economic activity will not only ensure the availability of quality food products but also empower female farmers to support their families.