Maersk Pakistan Private Limited and SEED Ventures have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch the Pakistan Agripreneurship Challenge (PAC).
PAC is an intervention challenge in the agricultural value chain, aimed at improving the quality of Pakistan’s agricultural products and exploring new global markets for Pakistan’s agricultural exporters.
It is noteworthy that in 2020, Pakistan produced 5.6 million metric tonnes of vegetables, of which the resulting export production amounted to US$4.92 million.
In contrast, the Netherlands, which produces 5.3 million metric tonnes of vegetables, could export US$31 billion worth of products.
From the above, it is easy to see that Pakistan does not meet its export potential for vegetables.
Issues related to storage, transportation and distribution are major hurdles for the agriculture sector and it is evident that a holistic value chain intervention is required for the post-harvest category.
In fact, Pakistan could save about US$1.13 billion annually by reducing post-harvest losses by up to 75%, according to a 2019 Asian Development Bank paper.
The partnership between SEED Ventures and Maersk aims to identify potential solutions to support Pakistan in fulfilling its export potential.
“At Maersk, our purpose is to improve life for all by integrating the world. We are delighted to partner with SEED Ventures and contribute to improving Pakistan’s agricultural sector,” said Hasan Faraz managing director, Maersk Pakistan.
“With our intel and understanding of the global market, the demand and supply, the consumer behaviour etc., we bring a lot of data to the table that can help the agricultural producers in curbing their losses through proper inventory management, using the right logistics solutions and implementing resilient operations that answer the call of the market,” he continued.
PAC invites Agri ventures, innovators, farmers, and agriculture students to participate and develop innovative solutions to solve the post-harvest challenges in Pakistan for vegetable produce.
The finalists will have the opportunity to implement their innovative solutions in the field of agriculture from Maersk and SEED.
“Pakistan is an agricultural economy and keeping in mind the challenges that the country is facing, concentrating on basic economic and contributing to the development of this very critical sector is imperative,” highlighted Shaista Ayesha CEO SEED Ventures.
“We are excited to be partnering with Maersk Pakistan for this initiative, their approach has been most forthcoming, and it is great to see an organisation leading in the supply chain sector is thinking not just about their industry but the entire value chain,” she concluded.
