By Muhammad Soban ISLAMABAD, Feb. 22 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan can use the expertise of China in nanotechnology to enhance productivity of the agriculture sector, which can help combat the issue of food security. Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan's economy as it is contributing 19.2 percent to gross domestic product (GDP) and meeting the demand for food in Pakistan. Due to growing demand for food, various technologies are being used worldwide to enhance agricultural productivity. Nanotechnology is one of the latest technologies used globally to increase crop production. Nanotechnology is a term that describes areas of science and engineering where phenomena occurring on the nanometre scale can be used to design, characterise, produce, and apply materials, structures, devices, and systems. Agricultural scientists have realised that smart innovations, such as nanotechnology, are crucial in agricultural growth to address food security and climate change challenges. In agriculture, nanotechnology has recently gained significant attention. In 2020, the global nanotechnology market was valued at $1.76 billion, and it is expected to reach $33.63 billion by 2030. The United States and China are the top countries working on the use of nanotechnology. According to Dr Wu Zhiguo, Director of Nano Application Technology Research Office of Gansu Academy of Sciences, China is ready to extend its achievements to iron-brother Pakistan in the field of nanotechnology to promote high-yield agriculture. Nanotechnology is vital in advancing fertilisation efficiency, yields, reducing pesticide use, rapid and early detection of pathogens, chemical detection in food items, smart pesticides, etc. Besides the delivery methods of fertiliser, smart systems could also be used to package and process foods and regulate food security in agriculture. In the near future, traditional agricultural sector will be promoted on a path to high-quality and meaningful development through nanotechnology to promote high-efficiency farming. Farmers have the opportunity to increase their income and production through the use of nanotechnology. Over time, Pakistan’s agricultural sector continuously benefited from various technological innovations, such as hybrid varieties and synthetic fertilisers and pesticides to increase production. Nanotechnology needs to be  adopted to further increase agriculture yield. The agriculture sector in Pakistan could benefit from nanotechnology as it can help improve food security and productivity, minimise damage to environment, improve human health, and promote social and economic equity. Nanotechnology can be used in Pakistan to improve precision farming. It is possible to maximise output (crop yields) while minimising input (fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, etc.) by monitoring environmental variables and applying targeted actions. Under the precision farming, farmers can use computers, satellites, and remote sensing devices to measure locally-specific environmental conditions to determine whether the crops are growing at maximum efficiency, or pinpoint exact problems. It can also reduce agricultural waste, thereby reducing pollution. In the future, nanotechnology-based sensors and monitoring systems will significantly impact precision farming. While talking to WealthPK, Dr Irfan Ahmad, Agriculture Researcher working on nanotechnology, said that Pakistan has also started working on the use of nanotechnology in agriculture, but there is much more that needs to be done to expand research in this field. The government of Pakistan needs to take help from China. Pakistan has to produce more research graduates in this field to produce new varieties and techniques to boost crop yield.