The NPO Pakistan and APO Secretariat organized a training course on Productivity Gainsharing in Agribusiness Enterprises, 13–17 March, in Islamabad. The course aimed to promote gainsharing, an organization-wide performance-related pay system, in the agribusiness sector. While gainsharing is widely used in manufacturing, it has rarely been adopted in agribusinesses in APO member economies, except in the ROC, Japan, and the ROK. Twenty-eight participants from 10 members registered for the course, including policymakers, agricultural professionals, CEOs and managers of agribusinesses, and researchers.

The training course covered the concept, management, and models of productivity gainsharing in agribusiness enterprises. It was inaugurated by Federal Minister for the Industries and Production Division Syed Murtaza Mahmud, who gave opening remarks on the importance of gainsharing. The course concluded with closing remarks from State Minister for Industries and Production Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi, who was the Chief Guest. During the course, three resource persons from Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Pakistan covered various aspects of gainsharing, including methodologies, tools, case studies, public-sector policies, and digitalization. They shared best practices and guided participants in exploring prospects for their adoption. In addition, participants had the opportunity to visit the GR Farms and National Agricultural Research Center to learn about agribusiness enterprises and public-sector agriculture research institutions in Pakistan.

Gainsharing has the potential to contribute to agricultural productivity by giving farmers, actors in supply chains, and employees a greater sense of ownership and enabling companies to increase profits through increased productivity and efficiency. Successful gainsharing schemes lead to improvements in the quality and productivity of workers. The training course is expected to promote the use of gainsharing in the agribusiness sector in APO member economies, increasing productivity and efficiency.