NEECA Convenes High-level Participatory Dialogue On REITs, Insurance To Drive Energy Efficiency In Agriculture

The National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA) convened a session of its conservation dialogue series under the theme “From Shock to Scale – Insurance, Credit, and REITs for Resilient Agriculture

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Sep, 2025) The National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA) convened a session of its conservation dialogue series under the theme “From Shock to Scale – Insurance, Credit, and REITs for Resilient Agriculture.”

The dialogue brought together a wide cross-section of Pakistan’s ecosystem, from financial institutions, insurers, regulators, academics, innovators, private banks and grassroots organizations, said a press release issued on Friday.

The participants included representatives from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), National Insurance Company Limited (NICL), COMSATS University Islamabad, the Pakistan Board of Investment, Instaful Solutions, the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) and its Climate Resourcing Coordination Center (CRCC), the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), Revenue Mobilisation, Investment and Trade (REMIT) Pakistan, the National Credit Guarantee Company Limited (NCGCL), and banks including Saudi Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company Limited and Mobilink Microfinance Bank.

Opening the session, NEECA Managing Director Dr. Sardar Mohazzam set the central priority and said, “If agriculture is to move forward, it has to be energy efficient. But efficiency alone won’t spread without the right financial tools. That’s where insurance and REITs come in: they turn good ideas into bankable projects and scalable investments.

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The panel, “Building the Finance Chain for Agriculture,” featured Rehan Butt (Instaful Solutions), Ammar Habib (NCGCL), Khurram Irshad (NICL), Alishba Khan (International Climate Finance Expert), Naeem Ilyas (Digiestate), and Yasir A. Khan Wazirzada (SECP).

Their discussion moved from risk transfer to scaling investment, beginning with parametric insurance as a way to provide timely payouts and unlock credit, reinforced by SECP’s crop-insurance work, and extending to REIT structures for cold-chain and other income-generating assets, as well as microfinance–insurer partnerships to reach risk-prone areas.

The panelists and participants agreed that these mechanisms together create the conditions for capital to flow into the right assets — first and foremost, energy-efficient technologies such as modern irrigation, solar pumping, and packhouses. They further stressed the importance of AgTech and stronger data systems in improving farming practices, speeding payouts, and strengthening credit modeling.

Designed as a participatory forum, the Conservation conversation moves beyond traditional panel formats by ensuring that comments and insights from regulators, private-sector leaders, innovators, and grassroots voices shape the way forward. NEECA will continue to convene stakeholders to chart practical pathways that put energy efficiency at the heart of agricultural finance.