Pakistan’s agricultural sector, the cornerstone of rural livelihood and national food security, is teetering on the edge of a historic precipice. Despite its sectorial contribution of approximately 24 per cent to GDP and employment for nearly 38 per cent of Pakistan’s workforce, its agricultural sector is marked by distressing yield inefficiencies, jeopardising both economic growth and poverty reduction. Mounting pressure is building as the country’s population surges ahead of food production, with growth rates for key crops like wheat, rice, cotton and sugarcane stagnating or declining. Fostering real progress in agriculture cannot rely exclusively on expanding credit. True agricultural advancement can only be achieved when mechanisation, technology, scientific training and the use of AI tools for weather predictability and resource management are at the heart of the national agenda. This requires moving beyond banking towards a model where financial support is closely interwoven with a push for innovation, capacity-building, and knowledge-sharing, writes Sultan Ali Allana, Chairman of HBL, in a recent op-ed.