Punjab AI farmers plan: province moves to bring AI tools to the fields
Punjab AI farmers plan: province moves to bring AI tools to the fields
LAHORE: The Punjab government is working to put artificial intelligence into the daily routine of farmers, aiming to raise productivity through better crop forecasting and decision-making, Parliamentary Secretary Osama Leghari said on Thursday. He was speaking as chief guest at the Pakistan Agricultural Coalition’s Agri Connections Conference and Expo at the Lahore Expo Centre.
The Punjab AI farmers plan would run over the remaining two and a half years of the provincial government’s tenure. Leghari said the goal was to lay the groundwork so growers could use AI-based tools to forecast crop yields and manage their farms with data rather than guesswork.
What the Punjab AI farmers plan involves
Leghari said the government wants farmers to get timely, reliable information through digital tools. The plan covers weather forecasts, crop monitoring and real-time data on soil, water and pest control delivered directly to growers.
Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Muhammad Ashiq Hussain Shah outlined a similar vision in August during a visit to China, where he attended the 2026 China International Big Data Industry Expo in Guiyang. He said Punjab was developing an AI-powered digital monitoring network for small farmers and was looking for Chinese partners to help deliver it.
“We want to use AI to monitor the weather, soil and water, and to digitally track crops as well,” Shah said during that visit. “We also want to use AI for pest control, so that a farmer can simply send a picture of a plant and get help identifying the problem.”
The push fits Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s stated aim of turning Punjab into an AI-enabled province, a goal announced earlier this year.
Value chain push and the private sector
Leghari said the government had declared 2026 the “Year of the Value Chain” and was trying to bring the private sector deeper into agriculture. He noted that farmers buy inputs at wholesale prices but sell their produce at rates that often leave them with thin margins, while also bearing transport costs.
He urged corporate companies to work directly with farmers, add value to agricultural products and reduce the role of intermediaries. That, he argued, could increase the growers’ share while also giving businesses profitable opportunities.
Adviser to the Federal Finance Minister Adnan Pasha, who also spoke at the event, said Pakistan faced two major long-term challenges beyond traditional security concerns: climate change and population growth. Both, he said, were tied to food and water security. He warned that Pakistan’s population could exceed 370 million or even reach 390 million over the next two decades.
Pasha added that transforming agriculture could not be financed from public resources alone. He called for stronger public-private partnerships, with the government providing the ecosystem and risk-sharing mechanisms, and noted the World Bank’s new Country Partnership Framework with Pakistan as part of that effort.
Frequently asked questions
What did the Punjab government announce about AI for farmers?
Parliamentary Secretary Osama Leghari said the province will integrate AI into farmers’ daily work over the next two and a half years, with tools for crop yield forecasting, productivity tracking and decision-making.
How would AI tools help farmers in practice?
The plan covers digital weather forecasts, crop monitoring and real-time data on soil, water and pests. Officials have also described systems where a farmer sends a photo of a plant and gets help identifying the problem.
What is the “Year of the Value Chain”?
It is the Punjab government’s label for 2026, under which it wants companies to work directly with farmers, add value to farm products and reduce the role of middlemen in the supply chain.
What did Adnan Pasha say about paying for the change?
He said public-sector resources alone could not finance the transformation of agriculture, and called for public-private partnerships with government-provided risk-sharing, pointing to the World Bank’s new Country Partnership Framework with Pakistan.
