Pakistan’s First Agriculture-Based Incubation Center to Open in August

Ignite will establish Pakistan’s first agriculture-based incubation center at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad in collaboration with the Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC).

The National Incubation Centre (NIC) Faisalabad will exclusively be for agriculture and will be operational by August, according to Ignite officials.

Ignite funds startups and innovative projects that utilize 4th industrial wave tech to solve local problems and target global opportunities in health, education, energy, agriculture, telecom, finance, and other verticals.

The FFC has been awarded the contract to establish the NIC after a bidding process per the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules. The NIC Faisalabad will be established on a three-to-six-month reimbursement model, and the FFC has submitted a five-year financial model to run it.

After the completion of five years of operations, the FFC Board will decide on a further course of action, including a tenure extension for the incubator management based on continual success against management key performance indicators, if allowed under the PPRA rules, the officials said.

They added that Pakistan is an agri-based economy that has strived to achieve agriculture-led growth to promote economic stability since its inception. Pakistan’s agriculture sector contributes 19.3 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and absorbs 35.9 percent of the labor force. Lack of research and development, water shortages, pest attacks, and the use of outdated farming techniques are the major reasons behind the decline in production in the agriculture sector in the last few years.

The Agricultural University Faisalabad is working on research in the field of agriculture, and the FFC also has a background and experience in agriculture. The NIC Faisalabad will provide a platform for the university’s startups that are working on new ideas regarding the use of modern technology in the field of agriculture. New research and trends will improve productivity in agriculture and will address Pakistan’s food security issues.



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