Pakistan : Enhancing Technology-Based Agriculture and Marketing in Rural Punjab

Sovereign Project | 52232-001

The proposed knowledge and support technical assistance (the TA) will facilitate the rapid adoption of advanced technologies to improve the productivity and profitability of the agriculture sector in Punjab Province, Pakistan. It will help increase farmers' access to such technologies in order to strengthen agriculture value chains in rural Punjab. It will also enable further development and adoption of advanced technologies to benefit the agriculture sector. The TA will contribute to farmers' higher income, improved livelihood in rural communities, increased food security, and sustainable agriculture growth of the province.

Project Details

  • Project Officer
    Sato, Noriko
    Sectors Group
    Request for information
  • Country/Economy
    Pakistan
  • Sector
    • Agriculture, natural resources and rural development
Project Name Enhancing Technology-Based Agriculture and Marketing in Rural Punjab
Project Number 52232-001
Country / Economy Pakistan
Project Status Active
Project Type / Modality of Assistance Technical Assistance
Source of Funding / Amount
TA 9838-PAK: Enhancing Technology-Based Agriculture and Marketing in Rural Punjab
Technical Assistance Special Fund US$ 500,000.00
Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific US$ 2.00 million
TA 9838-PAK: Enhancing Technology-Based Agriculture and Marketing in Rural Punjab
Technical Assistance Special Fund US$ 200,000.00
Operational Priorities OP1: Addressing remaining poverty and reducing inequalities
OP2: Accelerating progress in gender equality
OP5: Promoting rural development and food security
OP6: Strengthening governance and institutional capacity
Sector / Subsector

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural policy, institutional and capacity development - Agricultural production - Agriculture research and application - Agro-industry, marketing, and trade - Rural market infrastructure
Gender Some gender elements
Description The proposed knowledge and support technical assistance (the TA) will facilitate the rapid adoption of advanced technologies to improve the productivity and profitability of the agriculture sector in Punjab Province, Pakistan. It will help increase farmers' access to such technologies in order to strengthen agriculture value chains in rural Punjab. It will also enable further development and adoption of advanced technologies to benefit the agriculture sector. The TA will contribute to farmers' higher income, improved livelihood in rural communities, increased food security, and sustainable agriculture growth of the province.
Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy Agriculture is central to Pakistan's economy and food security. Punjab is the country's largest province in terms of population and economy. Punjab's agriculture growth rate has declined over the last 2 decades due to a number of challenges. The Punjab Agriculture Policy 2018, approved by the Government of Punjab in November 2018, has identified a critical need for the rapid adoption of advanced technologies to revitalize the provinces' agriculture sector. Over the last decade, many types of advanced technologies for agriculture have been introduced and became available for use in the region. These include high-efficiency irrigation systems, mechanized farming technologies, and farming and marketing management systems based on information and communication technology (ICT). The use of these technologies has demonstrated sound efficiency in farming activities in terms of productivity and profitability. In Punjab, such technologies have been introduced and piloted by large and progressive farmers. However, the use of these technologies by small farmers, representing more than 90% of the total farms in the province, is still very limited due to the lack of resources and opportunities for their access. This resulted in small farmers being continuously marginalized in the value chain economy, eventually contributing to the sector's underperformance. The Punjab Agriculture Department intends to support Punjab's small farmers in using and adopting advanced technologies with a focus on harvest, postharvest and marketing for three grain cropsrice, wheat, and maizethe main income source of many small farmers in Punjab, in engagement with a lot of private service providers and relevant industries in grain value chain, for which ADB's assistance is requested.
Impact

Punjab's agriculture growth, rural livelihood, and food security improved.
Project Outcome
Description of Outcome

Farmers' adoption of advanced technologies increased in TA pilot sites.
Progress Toward Outcome On track.
Implementation Progress
Description of Project Outputs

Demonstration of advanced harvest and postharvest technologies conducted

ICT-based direct marketing platform developed and installed

Capacity of stakeholders in developing and adopting advanced technologies increased

Investment opportunities to scale up the adoption of technologies formulated
Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues) On track. The inception report which included a three-year work plan and detailed first year work plan including pilot sites and implementation guidelines were prepared and approved.
Geographical Location Punjab
Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects
Environmental Aspects
Involuntary Resettlement
Indigenous Peoples
Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation
During Project Design The TA processing team held consultation with farmers, private farm machine service providers. local machine manufacturers, and the Punjab Agriculture Department's extension staff and obtained their suggestions/inputs to design the TA.
During Project Implementation TA consultants had consultation meetings with farmers, private farm machine service providers, local machine manufactures, and the Punjab Agriculture Department's extension staff to prepare a three-year implementation plan and the detailed plan of the first year in January and February 2020.
Business Opportunities
Consulting Services ADB will recruit a national consulting firm to implement TA activities using quality- and cost-based selection with a 90:10 quality-cost ratio. ADB will also recruit the international and national individual consultants whose expertise will not be available through a firm.
Procurement Advance action will be applied to recruit consultants.
Responsible ADB Officer Sato, Noriko
Responsible ADB Department Sectors Group
Responsible ADB Division Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development Sector Office (SG-AFNR)
Executing Agencies
Agriculture Department, Government of the Punjab
Timetable
Concept Clearance 12 Jun 2019
Fact Finding 28 Mar 2019 to 01 Apr 2019
MRM -
Approval 29 Oct 2019
Last Review Mission -
Last PDS Update 25 Mar 2020

TA 9838-PAK

Milestones
Approval Signing Date Effectivity Date Closing
Original Revised Actual
29 Oct 2019 22 Nov 2019 22 Nov 2019 31 Oct 2022 31 Oct 2023 -
Financing Plan/TA Utilization Cumulative Disbursements
ADB Cofinancing Counterpart Total Date Amount
Gov Beneficiaries Project Sponsor Others
700,000.00 2,000,000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2,700,000.00 09 Sep 2023 2,240,098.93

Project Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program. Because the PDS is a work in progress, some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information about proposed projects is tentative and indicative.

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Title Document Type Document Date
Enhancing Technology-Based Agriculture and Marketing in Rural Punjab: COVID-19 Impact Update Bulletin No. 4 TA Consultant's Report Consultants' Reports Aug 2020
Enhancing Technology-Based Agriculture and Marketing in Rural Punjab: COVID-19 Impact Update Bulletin No. 3 TA Consultant's Report Consultants' Reports Jun 2020
Enhancing Technology-Based Agriculture and Marketing in Rural Punjab: COVID-19 Impact Update Bulletin No. 2 TA Consultant's Report Consultants' Reports May 2020
Enhancing Technology-Based Agriculture and Marketing in Rural Punjab: COVID-19 Impact Update Bulletin No. 1 TA Consultant's Report Consultants' Reports Apr 2020
Enhancing Technology-Based Agriculture and Marketing in Rural Punjab: Technical Assistance Report Technical Assistance Reports Oct 2019

Safeguard Documents See also: Safeguards
Safeguard documents provided at the time of project/facility approval may also be found in the list of linked documents provided with the Report and Recommendation of the President.

None currently available.

Evaluation Documents See also: Independent Evaluation

None currently available.

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Requests for information may also be directed to the InfoUnit.

Tenders

Tender Title Type Status Posting Date Deadline
Enhancing Technology-Based Agriculture and Marketing in Rural Punjab-Agriculture Value Chain Technology Development Specialist Individual - Consulting Closed
Agriculture Sector Specialist/TA Coordinator (Pakistan) Individual - Consulting Closed
Agriculture Sector Development Specialist/TA Coordinator Individual - Consulting Closed
Communications Specialist Individual - Consulting Closed
Agriculture Policy and Institutions Specialist Individual - Consulting Closed
Agriculture Sector Development Specialist/TA Coordinator Individual - Consulting Closed
Economist Individual - Consulting Closed
Agriculture Value Chain Technology Development Specialist Individual - Consulting Closed
Agriculture Value Chain Business Development Specialist Individual - Consulting Closed
Agriculture Commodity Market & Finance Specialist Individual - Consulting Closed
Enhancing Technology-based Agriculture and Marketing in Rural Punjab Firm - Consulting Closed

Contracts Awarded

Contract Title Approval Number Contract Date Contractor | Address Executing Agency Total Contract Amount (US$) Contract Amount Financed by ADB (US$)
Capacity Development Technical Assistance 9838 18 Dec 2019 CAB International(UNITED KINGDOM) in association with Euroconsult Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd.(PAKISTAN) | Nosworthy Road, Wallingford Oxon OX10 8DE, United Kingdom Agriculture Department, Government of the Punjab 1,351,551.00 —

Procurement Plan

None currently available.