The government has proposed a nationwide digital system to record farmers, agricultural land, and soil and water testing data as part of efforts to modernize Pakistan’s agriculture sector.

The proposal for a Digital Farmers’ Diary and AgriStack was discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on agriculture development and the promotion of agricultural exports.

Under the proposed system, records of farmers and agricultural land across Pakistan will be digitized. The system will also include data from soil and water tests.

The meeting also discussed introducing the Pakistan Good Agriculture Practices system to promote modern farming methods and increase crop yields.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said improving per-acre production, modernizing farming, developing the livestock sector and increasing agricultural exports would require better coordination between the federal and provincial governments.

He also stressed the need to increase value addition in agricultural products to boost exports. Commercial officers at Pakistan’s overseas missions were directed to promote local agricultural products, find new markets and improve access to international markets.

The government also plans a media campaign to promote a mobile application for crop monitoring. The meeting reviewed agricultural value chains and identified China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Gulf countries as key markets for Pakistani agricultural products.

Officials said agricultural exports reached $5.18 billion during the last financial year. Major exports included rice, fisheries, halal meat, potatoes, sesame, tobacco, mangoes and maize.

The meeting also reviewed financing facilities for agricultural exporters, while the prime minister called for higher productivity, greater value addition and stronger access to international markets.

The government is also working to increase agricultural financing. Earlier this week, the prime minister directed banks and financial institutions to increase lending to farmers and offer financing on favorable terms.

Agricultural lending reached Rs. 1.268 trillion in August 2026. The government aims to increase this to Rs. 2 trillion by June 2028 under the Access to Finance Plan 2026-28.

Officials further told the meeting that 35,838 applications had been received through the Zarkhez e app for agricultural loans. Of these, Rs. 7.35 billion had been approved and Rs. 1.96 billion had been disbursed.