US department of agriculture conducts two-day training session

The training program conducted on July 30 and 31 was designed in a bid to support the PML-N lead government for growing its agricultural trade.

Officials were confident that the program would the agriculture sector of Pakistan as it was aimed at informing the officials concerned on how to fulfil the international plant health standards, said a statement issued on Monday.

“This training along with other programs serves a dual purpose of helping expand the Pakistani export market and building closer ties between our governments and people,” said US Embassy Agricultural Counsellor David Williams.

He added that “We look forward to continuing our cooperation with the Government of Pakistan to help increase fruit and vegetable exports to the US market.”

Currently, Pakistan exports some $585 million of fresh fruits and vegetables annually, the statement said.

“Learning about sanitary and phytosanitary measures from a team of USDA, Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International, and other learned experts was a unique experience,” said Director General for Extension and Adaptive Research in the Punjab Agriculture Department Dr Muhammad Anjum Ali.

He continued to add, “I have learnt a lot from the trainers and methodology.”

Agriculture is Pakistan’s second-largest sector, accounting for over 21 per cent of GDP. It also remains, by far, the largest employer with at least 46 per cent of the labour force.