The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) launched the Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support the Government of Pakistan in agriculture and allied subsectors, in July 2011. PSSP, a country-led and countrywide program, provided evidence-based policy analytical support on a range of issues and policies affecting agricultural growth and food security in the country. Additionally, it focused on panel surveys, competitive grants for policy work, trainings, advocacy, and support to policymakers. The core objective of the program was to promote inclusive growth, enhanced food security, and strengthening capacity. The final output of the PSSP was IFPRI’s flagship publication titled “Agriculture and the Rural Economy in Pakistan: Issues, Outlooks, and Policy Priorities” as well as several other publications.

The Pakistan Agricultural Capacity Enhancement (PACE) Program, another USAID-funded program, succeeded PSSP, in October 2016. PACE is currently under implementation by IFPRI. This program is designed to support the agriculture departments of all provincial governments in dealing with changes related to the 18th Constitutional Amendment, enacted in 2010. The program aims to enhance the capacity of the provincial governments in policy analysis, policy formulation, and skills development to achieve national goals and objectives in this sector.

PACE has successfully developed strong ties with provincial counterparts including the provincial agriculture departments, planning and development departments, and academia and has also engaged with federal-level stakeholders such as the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR), Ministry of  Planning Development and Reform (MoPDR), Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), the Centre for Rural Economy (CRE), and the Agriculture Policy Institute (API).

In April 2017, IFPRI signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior that allowed formal registration of IFPRI in Pakistan. Abdul Wajid Rana has headed the IFPRI Pakistan office as Country Program Leader since October 2017.

For more information, please visit the IFPRI-Pakistan's website.