KARACHI: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Director for the Office of Sindh and Balochistan Andrew Rebold and Sindh Secretary of Agriculture Parvez Ahmed Seehar participated in a closing ceremony of the U.S. Government-funded Pakistan Agricultural Technology Transfer Activity (PATTA). The four-year program increased agricultural yield through modern technologies designed to increase sales, manufacturing capacity, efficiency, and market linkages.

“The U.S. commitment to Pakistan’s economy, demonstrated through the sharing of state-of-the-art agriculture technology, raises profits for farmers while increasing Pakistani access to global markets,” Andrew Rebold said. “PATTA also improves the income and productivity of Pakistan’s women farmers through modern technology.”

Through US government support, modern farming technology is now available to more than 150,000 farmers in the agriculture, dairy, and livestock sectors throughout 43 districts of Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit Baltistan. The capstone event, attended by agribusiness partners, farmers, public and private sector representatives, and academia, marked the culmination of a significant project under the longstanding U.S. partnership with Pakistan.

Seehar praised the U.S.-Pakistan partnership for modernizing the agriculture sector. PATTA resulted in more than 400,000 stakeholders having the access to modern agricultural technology for their daily work. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Secretary for Agriculture Dr Mohammed Israr also attended the ceremony.

Through programs such as PATTA, the United States and Pakistan have worked together for nearly 75 years on issues that are important to both nations, including energy, economic growth, peace and inclusion, education, and health.