AGRITECH

AgriTech is the use of technology in agriculture, horticulture, and aquaculture with the aim of improving yield, efficiency, and profitability.

Agriculture sector is the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy; it contributes around 20 percent in the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is the biggest sector in terms of employment.

The higher cost of production has continuously been haunting the farmer community in Pakistan. This, together with climate change impact, has been resulting in poor produce and negative growth rates at times.

AgriTech theme at NSTP will focus on technologies like Smart Irrigation methods, Food Processing & Storage, Precision Agriculture, Biotechnology, Vertical Farming, Agriculture Robots, Air & Soil Monitoring Tools, Seeds, Fertilizers, Livestock and Poultry.

Within Islamabad, there is a growing biotechnology sector. The National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), Islamabad has been undertaking advanced work in genetic modification for crop improvements. NARC is home to the recently created National Institute for Genomics and Advanced Biotechnology. This facility represents one of the largest single investments in Biotechnology in Pakistan over the last 10 years.

Atta-ur-Rehman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB) at NUST, is home to Pakistan’s largest biotech cluster and this pool of expertise is an invaluable resource, enabling students to access biotechnological skills. The School is unique in having established expertise across a broad range of biotechnology, thereby encouraging innovative approaches to teaching and research. Areas of expertise include health care biotechnology, industrial biotechnology, food and plant biotechnology. The school with its state-of-the-art labs and research facilities, not to mention a unique ensemble of erudite faculty, will provide direct facilitation to AgriTech tenants at NSTP.