Pakistan

Over the past decade, growth in Pakistan’s agricultural R&D spending has been modest but erratic.

The country’s total number of agricultural researchers grew slightly in recent years, mostly due to increased involvement in agricultural R&D by universities; however, relative to its South Asian neighbors, Pakistan has a low share of PhD-qualified agricultural researchers.

Agriculture forms the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. The sector contributes 25 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs almost half of its labor force. For these reasons, agricultural productivity growth is a key factor in Pakistan’s economic development and poverty alleviation objectives. In turn, agricultural research and development (R&D) is crucial in generating agricultural productivity gains through new and improved crop varieties, cropping practices, labor-saving technologies, postharvest and processing methods, and marketing mechanisms.

With nearly 3,600 fte researchers in 2003, Pakistan has one of the largest agricultural R&D systems in Asia. However, agricultural researcher totals in Pakistan have increased only slowly during the past two decades, mainly as a result of prolonged periods of recruitment restrictions. In addition, at just 15 percent in 2003, the  share of Pakistani agricultural research staff trained to PhD level is relatively low, compared to some of Pakistan’s South Asian neighbors.