‘Adopting modern practices and agro-tech is the only way to achieve sustainable growth and self-sufficiency in agricultural produce.’ – Rabel Sadozai, Fatima Fertilizer
Agriculture moves nearly 20 percent of Pakistan’s economy, through crop production and related jobs and services, however, according to Rabel Sadozai, Director of Marketing and Sales at Fatima Fertilizer, “Yet we are far from exploring the full potential of our agriculture sector to achieve self-sufficiency.”
Pakistan has one of the highest population growth rates in the region, currently standing at nearly 2 percent. It means that the number of mouths we will need to feed in the future will increase disproportionately against the amount of food we produce. While our population might not see any drastic reduction anytime soon, Ms. Sadozai believes we can do better on our food production front by adopting modern practices at par with world practices and standards.
“We can enhance our agricultural produce through smart farming and induction of agritech,” Ms. Sadozai says. She further added, “Pakistan has immense agri potential and we are unable to exploit it entirely due to our failure to transition from age-old farming practices towards modern and precision-based farming based on scientific knowledge and technology.”
Despite being an agricultural economy, Pakistan incurs a hefty wheat import bill. Experts estimate that Pakistan may require to import nearly 04 million tonnes of wheat to meet the local shortfall, thereby propelling the country’s wheat import bill up to $4 billion during FY 2023.
While responding to questions related to the nature of agri tech and its acceptability, Ms. Sadozai explained, agriculture-focused technology is being used to provide weather updates, crop advisory, water and soil testing to help farmers plan and tend to their crops in a systemic manner. She further added, “Farmers who are quick to adopt tech support have witnessed a substantial increase in their crop yield and subsequently their income. The financial wellbeing at the grassroots level will translate into sustainable economic growth at the macro level through a bottom-up approach.”
“The recent floods in Pakistan gave us first-hand experience of what climate change can do to food security. As per estimates, hundreds of thousands of acres of cultivated crops have been swept away in addition to fruit orchards and cattle, which simply means an even graver food shortage is looming,” She added.
Rabel Sadozai’s organization – Fatima Fertilizer, besides being one of the largest fertilizer manufacturers, is also a key proponent of boosting agri-based technology in the country. Fatima Fertilizer has been enabling and empowering farmers through scientific advisory regarding the planning and management of crops, water and soil testing and provision of customized information according to the locality and land type of each farmer.
The company has systemized these services through a state-of-the-art digital mobile application called ‘Sarsabz Pakistan’, which has been witnessing an unprecedented uptake amongst the farming communities nationwide since its launch.
“Sarsabz Pakistan mobile app is an extension of our commitment to promote agri-technology besides our pledge to reach out to farmers to offer them relevant and useful information so they can make more informed decisions regarding their land and crops” said Ms. Rabel Sadozai. She further stated, “the application has been a resounding success amongst Pakistani farmers by becoming the fastest growing app within the agriculture sector having surpassed the 100 thousand plus download mark on Google Play Store within just 10 months of its launch.”The app is in simple Urdu language so the farming community can easily understand the advisory. Ms. Sadozai described the app as a one-stop solution for all farming-related information and customized assistance.
“Sarsabz Pakistan app features crop planning and management support to help with managing multiple farms and crops in a given season by providing step-by-step alerts. It also features a fertilizer calculator for planning precise application of fertilizer according to the land and crop type and the 4R rule – right source, right rate, right time and right place,” she said.
According to Ms. Sadozai, Fatima Fertilizer is the only company to provide free-of-cost soil and water testing facilities in Pakistan, whereby farmers can request the company’s qualified agronomists through the app to visit their land site and collect water and soil samples for testing purposes. The test results are also shared with them through the app. It not only saves the farmers the entire hassle of visiting labs with the samples but also precious time which can be spent on tending to the crops.
She further added, “Going forward, we plan to offer swift facilities through this app to make it more purposeful and facilitate the farmers in applying for micro-loans and leasing of farm machinery on easy terms. This can help them to procure and manage essential farm inputs in a timely and convenient manner. This can also support them to scale up their agriculture businesses and effectively increase their profitability and income.”
Initiatives like Sarsabz mobile app are the initial reflections of a master vision to digitize Pakistan’s agriculture sector which can place the country miles on its path to modernization. According to Rabel, “there is a need for doing this and the time is right to initiate this process,” she further said, “The widespread penetration of smartphones and 3G/4G technology provides a favourable environment for the growth of agritech in Pakistan. Mobile internet and smartphones are in use even across peripheral regions. It is an excellent opportunity to enhance uptake of agricultural technology amongst farming communities for their socioeconomic progress.” she stressed. She called upon the government and relevant stakeholders to put their weight behind active proponents of the cause like Fatima Fertilizer so that their efforts can be amplified to make a larger and broader impact in the country.
Pakistan is amongst the top ten countries most affected by climate change. Besides natural disasters, food shortages will be one of the eventual prime manifestations of climate change. Pakistan may have some grace time before the gravest ramifications surface; therefore, this time must be utilized to fortify our social and economic safeguards.
To download Sarsabz Pakistan mobile application, please visit this link or search for ‘Sarsabz Pakistan’ on Google Play Store.
