event details - Capacity-Building Workshop on “Climate-Smart Agricultural Cooperation under CPEC”

Concept Note:

Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country to climate change according to the Long-Term Climate Risk Index.1 Over the past few years, the country has experienced major climate-induced disasters in the form of heat waves and floods with agriculture being one of the hardest hit sectors. Since Pakistan is an agro economy with the share of agriculture in the GDP of the country standing at 22.7% in 2021, this inculcates significant losses for the country.2 Floods in 2022 caused widespread damage in Pakistan, resulting in over $30 billion in losses and damages. The total damages were to the tune of $14.9 billion, coupled with total losses of $15.2 billion, and gross

rehabilitation and reconstruction needs amounting to around $16.3 billion.3 As a result of the floods, Pakistan suffered unprecedented damage to crops, livestock, and agricultural infrastructure and services, leading to the threat of a full-blown food crisis. The disaster cumulatively caused $3.73 billion worth of damages to the agricultural sector (25% of the total damages), with a further $9.24 billion in crop and livestock related losses (60.7% of the total losses). The post-recovery rehabilitation needs for the agricultural sector are almost $4 billion (around 24.5% of the total). Consequently, agriculture value-added as a percentage of GDP decreased by almost 1% with rice, cotton, sugarcane and dates being among the most adversely impacted crops.4 To help Pakistan adapt to the threat posed by climate-induced disasters, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with $62 billion worth of total investment pledged in energy and infrastructure projects, offers immense potential.5 The third phase of CPEC is set to focus on agricultural cooperation between China and Pakistan, providing an effective mechanism for technology transfer and learning from best practices. Given the urgent need to adapt to climate change, particularly in the agriculture sector, the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) plans to organize a capacity building workshop on the “Prospects of Climate-Smart Agricultural Cooperation under CPEC”. The workshop aims to bring together key stakeholders such as farmers, policy-makers, academia, students, and agro-based companies collaborating closely with Chinese companies under CPEC. Objectives In line with the above, this capacity building workshop aims to:

1. Underscore the importance of climate-smart agriculture to help Pakistan adapt to food insecurity and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions;

2. Discuss the prospects of scaling-up agro-based financing under CPEC to help small farmers build resilience for agro-projects and adapt to climate change;

3. Provide a pathway for China-Pakistan agricultural cooperation under CPEC while learning from China's best practices;

4. Provide recommendations for the Government of Pakistan to expand the uptake of climate-smart agricultural technologies and tools under CPEC, while building capacity among farmers to use these technologies.