PAC Agri-Connections conference and expo focused on transforming Pakistan’s agriculture from Apr 24-25. The country’s premier private sector conference and expo on agriculture ‘Pakistan Agricultural Coalition’s Agri-Connections 2024’, will be held in Lahore from April 24-25 at the Lahore Expo Center with a focus on increasing investment in agriculture, showcasing innovation, increasing exports, reducing imports, and improving farmer profitability.
“The conference has been designed to accelerate the rising wave of interest in agriculture among Pakistan’s private sector and governments for real agri-development,” said Arif Nadeem, CEO of Pakistan Agricultural Coalition, while talking to a group of journalists on Friday.
He added that the country’s leading businesses will demonstrate their innovation and leadership in agriculture to all stakeholders while keynote speakers will present on various topics in the 2-day conference. He added that in addition to the conference, there will be an expo segment, with the best-in-class players in each segment of agriculture showcasing the important projects they have done in agriculture.
“On the sidelines of the event, structured connections will be made between investors, farmers, start-ups, government entities, donors, experts, etc. Finally, for small agri start-ups, Agri-Connections 2024 will have ZarZaraat, a SharkTank-style competition being held in collaboration with the Bank of Punjab,” said Kazim Saeed, Strategy Advisor to Pakistan Agricultural Coalition. He explained the ‘Sharktank-style’ segment of Agri-Connections 2024 in line with the conference’s overall theme, which is to make it clear that Pakistan’s corporate sector is already investing in agriculture.
“Through the ZarZaraat segment of Agri-Connections 2024, our goal is to highlight that Pakistan has many exciting new ideas that, given the right enabling environment and investment, can change the face of agriculture in the coming few years.
“We received thirty-five applications within the deadline and, with the help and expertise of our Knowledge Partner A.F. Ferguson & Co., we were able to make a long list of seven applications for our jury to review,” said Kazim Saeed.
“We hope that when these finalists pitch to investors at Agri-Connections 2024, the audience realises that if any of the finalists receive funding, something significant is likely to materialise in Pakistan’s agriculture sector,” said Kazim.
Arif Nadeem said the conference is being organised by the Pakistan Agriculture Coalition (PAC), which was established in 2013 to transform Pakistan’s agriculture sector with a vision of making it private-sector-led, technology-driven, entrepreneurial, and globally competitive.
“PAC derives its strength from key industry linkages, public sector access, relationships with leading farmer organisations, and most importantly, its patrons, which are Pakistan’s leading business groups and have a cumulative turnover of over $10 billion,” he said. He added that PAC focuses on developing business models and fostering ecosystems that will promote the progress and growth of Pakistan’s agri sector.
“It does so by assembling relevant market players, piloting various models, and then developing them into commercial ventures. In addition to this core activity, PAC is also sought out by the government, development organisations, and the private sector to advise on matters related to Pakistan’s agriculture sector,” said Kazim Saeed.
