China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) | Agriculture

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CPEC to revitalize Pakistan’s livestock industry​

January 28, 2023



ISLAMABAD – Various projects initiated under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will prove beneficial in promoting trade between the two neighbouring countries in the livestock and agriculture sectors, WealthPK reported.

China will help Pakistan to establish farms for the cultivation of high-yield chillies. China will also help Pakistani farmers to produce embryos of cows with a larger quantity of milk. The joint initiative has an initial export potential of $500 to $550 million.

The Chinese government has chosen two companies for the CPEC projects in the agriculture and livestock sectors. Litong has been chosen for agricultural projects and Royal Company for those in the livestock sector.

It has been planned to improve technical exchange and seed production, animal and poultry breeding, agriculture product processing and post-harvest management under the CPEC projects.

Dr Saiful Mujjahid, an economist, told WealthPK that poor seed quality, a lack of modern agricultural practises, low yields and a shortage of qualified farm labourers were affecting the agriculture and livestock sectors in Pakistan. He said that the country needed agricultural and livestock research to boost the production of goods and improve their quality for the purpose of export.

China has more expertise in agriculture than Pakistan. Pakistan should get benefit from it by incorporating farming methods and raising awareness among local farmers to boost yields of different crops and vegetables.
Compound planting and greenhouses are Chinese agricultural innovations that are ideal for Pakistani crops. Pakistan should use green pesticides and organic fertilisers to reduce pollution caused by agricultural sources. The country needs to enhance the genetic diversity of the cows used for dairy farming. It requires better embryos for high-yield milk and the long lives of animals.

“Pakistan offers perfect conditions for growing chillies. We should cultivate more chillies in a smaller space with the aid of Chinese businesses by utilising better farming methods, the most recent research and better seeds. This might open up further export opportunities for Pakistan,” said Dr Saif.

He said that under the CPEC framework, Chinese companies in collaboration with Fauji Fertiliser Corporation would set up factories to produce pesticides as well as livestock and poultry feed in Allama Iqbal Special Economic Zone in Faisalabad. “It will increase collaboration between China and Pakistan on food, livestock and agricultural research and development.

Pakistan’s economy will improve if Chinese technology is adopted. It will help to increase irrigation efficiency and agricultural production, encourage innovative technologies and produce high-value crops,” he said.

He said that poor infrastructure was a major barrier to both the development of agriculture and sustained economic growth in Pakistan. CPEC projects will improve the infrastructure for agriculture by giving farmers access to modern technology. CPEC will promote foreign investment in the agriculture sector, increasing employment prospects for graduates in the long run. “Through road, rail and marine connections,

CPEC will assist farmers in reaching larger markets where they can export their goods at profitable prices. CPEC projects include the expansion of farms to increase production using the newest tools and methods. It will improve Pakistan’s economy and increase its Gross Domestic Product,” Dr Saif told

 

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Pakistan-China red chili project to help uplift Pakistan's agriculture sector

On a fine January morning, Muhammad Sajjad was all smiles after seeing thriving saplings of the Chin

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Pakistan-China red chili project to help uplift Pakistan's agriculture sector​

By Staff Reporter | XINHUA NEWS Jan 30, 2023



On a fine January morning, Muhammad Sajjad was all smiles after seeing thriving saplings of the Chinese sweet chili at a nursery in a remote farming land of Pakistan's eastern city of Multan.

"These saplings are very close to my heart; in their blossom, I can see the future of Pakistan's agriculture industry, which will bloom just like my saplings when modern Chinese technology is applied to it," Sajjad spoke as the morning sun rose from the east behind him.

Launched in 2013, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a corridor linking Pakistan's Gwadar Port with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation in the first phase, while in the new phase expands to the fields of agriculture, livelihood, etc.

Echoing the CPEC's cooperation in agriculture, China Machinery Engineering Corporation and Sichuan Litong Food Group have established a company and carried out a red chili contract farming project in 2021, and one of six model farms of the project is in Multan.

Sajjad's nursery is among thousands of acres of model farms where the company teamed up with locals for contract farming of Chinese chili varieties, with an aim to export the crops back to China after harvest and earn foreign exchange revenue for Pakistan.

Talking to Xinhua, Muhammad Adnan, executive manager of the company, said that local farmers' interest in cultivating Chinese chili is increasing due to its better yield and strong resistance to diseases.

"Local chili is highly vulnerable to diseases, and farmers are hesitant to grow it, but the Chinese varieties are robust, easy to pick, and are sold at a higher price directly to Chinese companies from the farms, without any involvement of middleman, making it highly popular among local farmers," he added.

Adnan said that in the near future, primary and deep processing units for value-added services of the crop will also be established in Pakistan, adding more value and jobs for locals.

The most crucial time for the crop is in January as the seedling process is underway in tunnels and the plants are easily rotten because of disease or low temperature.

However, local agriculture technicians at the project are handling the sowing process on the advice of Chinese experts.

In a conversation with Xinhua, Zhao Jianhua, a Chinese agronomist of the company with 27 years of experience in chili cultivation, said he has trained over 20 Pakistani agricultural technicians in the past years, who can help the farms independently.

"We are not only bringing cultivation technology to local farmers, but also working together with Pakistani agronomists to promote the development of the chili industry by combining technology with the advantages of both Chinese and Pakistani chili varieties," he added.

Muhammad Irfan Ahmad, assistant executive manager of the company, told Xinhua that many techniques like nurturing the plants inside the tunnel, modern ways of transplantation, and providing sufficient nutrients to the crops are some of the methods that local farmers did not adopt previously, as they relied on primitive methods of farming in the past.

"With the assistance of Chinese agronomists, we tell people how to plant chilies and how to take care of them in a scientific way," he added.

Ahmad said that the yield time of the chili is around June usually. Still, due to early monsoon patterns in Pakistan which started in June 2022, some of the plants got affected, so by applying new techniques, they will reap the chilies in May this year to avoid the monsoon season.

In a conversation with Xinhua, Muhammad Ejaz, a farmer who was preparing his land, located right next to the nursery, for transplantation in the coming days, said that their hopes are high regarding the project, and they believe it will bring socio-economic prosperity in the region.

"The best thing about this crop is that it takes only six months for yield, unlike local chili, which takes eight to 10 months, so by planting Chinese chili and following the experts' guidance, we can now timely harvest the chili and sow another crop following that to earn more money," Ejaz said while looking at the lush chili beds in the nursery.

Local experts and farmers believe that the project has a bright future as more and more farmers are getting interested in it, and it will gradually expand to other parts of the country due to increasing demand from farmers.

 

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China and Pakistan's major cooperation in cooking oil sector.

Wuhan Ching Fahsheng Seed Company's canola type HC-021C is being manufactured in Pakistan. This technology can increase Pakistan's edible oil production and save foreign exchange reserves. Local people with Pak-China agricultural cooperation under CPC framework Will benefit the ko.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=905937060741636

 

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Zhao Jianhua (R), a Chinese agronomist, guides a Pakistani technician Muhammad Sajjad to examine the saplings in a greenhouse of the Pakistan-China red chili project in Multan..

 

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Chinese canola flowers in full bloom in Pakistan​

By Fatima Javed | Gwadar Pro Feb 17, 2023



GUJRANWALA, Feb. 18 (Gwadar Pro) - Canola variety HC-021C of a Chinese seed company is blooming in Pakistan. This agriculture cooperation under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will increase Pakistan's edible oil production and save foreign exchange reserves.
In an interview with Gwadar Pro, Zhou Xusheng, Director of International Department, Wuhan Qingfa Hesheng Seed Company said that the project will increase the country's unit output and reduce import bills. Mills can get better milling yield and consumers can get healthy edible oil, he added.

Canola farms in Kalaskey, Gujranwala [Photo/Gwadar Pro]
Comparing with other existing Brassica napus canola varieties in Pakistan, Zhou said that HC-021C has a shorter growth period, making it suitable to match with local farmers' sowing habits. In addition, HC-021C is proven to show higher disease resistance and is suitable for high density planting. Given these great characteristics, HC-021C has a higher yield, 5% higher than other local varieties per unit.
Underlining the benefits of HC-021C in Pakistan, Zhou said that the Punjab government gives a Rs5000/ package to HC-021C as it has better oil rape seed color. Farmers can get Rs500/40kgs more than raya/mustard, therefore HC-021C can get a better income.
He said, "In terms of nutritional value, given Ayub's research, HC-021C is able to achieve 38% or higher on oil content (10% higher than raya/mustard) and over 66% on oleic acid. Moreover, HC-021C's erucic acid content weighs 0.7%, much lower than the 2% international standard, resulting in higher added value on downstream processing.”
"In the future, Qingfa and its partner Certus Seeds in Pakistan will invest in new breeding varieties locally. For building an industry chain in Pakistan, we plan to introduce canola harvester modules and Chinese oil press technology and units. Besides the downstream chain we also want to develop fine variety, contract farming to provide high quality rape seeds to local oil press mills. This mode will benefit whole chains,” Zhou added.

200-acre HC-021C farm in Gujranwala, Pakistan [Photo/Gwadar Pro]
Pakistan has a huge demand for vegetable oil. Each resident is estimated to have an annual consumption of 18 kilograms of oil, resulting in an annual consumption of around 5 million tons. Edible oil is among the largest food imports in Pakistan.
From 2021 to 2022, Pakistan has imported around 3.6 billion dollars' worth of edible oil, making it 89% of Pakistan's national supply. Among all edible oils Pakistan has imported palm oil which occupies the largest share of 94%. Local supply of palm oil only takes up 11% of the market share.
Since 2009, Wuhan Qingfahesheng Seed Company has cooperated with Certus Seeds Pakistan for canola research and breeding in Pakistan while HC-021C was approved by the Pakistani Government later in 2019. The company also manages breeding and technical support for local farmers. Every March the company arranges field days for farmers and transfers cultivation technology to them for better yield.

Chinese canola flowers in full bloom in Pakistan

GUJRANWALA, Feb. 18 (Gwadar Pro) - Canola variety HC-021C of a Chinese seed company is blooming in P

gwadarpro.pk

 

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Zhao Jianhua, a Chinese agronomist, guides a Pakistani technician Muhammad Sajjad to examine the saplings in a greenhouse of the Pakistan-China red chili project in Multan.

 

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Pak-China desert locust control coop protect food security in Pakistan​

By Staff reporter | China Economic Net Feb 20, 2023



BEIJING, Feb. 21 (China Economic Net)- “The worst that we have ever seen, ever. I cultivated around 20 hectares of cotton crops and almost all of them have been eaten. It is a loss of around 10 million rupees. It will take years to recover from this loss,” Mir Gul Muhammad, a farmer in Balochistan province, was blunt. “These nasty insects appeared like a dark cloud out of nowhere and ate 80 percent of my crop in a few days.”
In 2020-21, Pakistan experienced its worst locust outbreak in nearly three decades, causing severe crop yield reduction or even total failure in many areas. “According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), desert locusts affected 38 percent of Pakistan’s land area. The swarms caused significant damage to food crops, including wheat, maize, and vegetables. And the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council showed that the locusts damaged over 3 million hectares of crops, leading to losses of around USD 3 billion,” noted Prof Hidayat ULLAH from the University of Swabi.

Desert locust nymphs collected from Spin Kana Kalan, Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Photo provided to CEN]
Luckily, with the joint efforts of experts from both China and Pakistan, the locust plague was finally brought under control. “The intensity has been reduced. Swarms has been restricted to the eastern boarder of Pakistan due to effective aerial spray,” Prof ULLAH said. With the support of the FAO, Chinese Government and other international organizations, various control measures have been implemented to mitigate the impact of the outbreak.
“Nevertheless, we cannot relax our vigilance for even a second.” Researcher Tu Xiongbing from the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) told China Economic Net in an exclusive interview. Not long ago, he and Prof Hidayat ULLAH co-published a paper entitled IPM-Biological and integrated management of desert locust.
In the paper, Tu mentioned that spraying chemical pesticides is the most effective way when the disaster-affected area is large. For smaller affected areas or relatively mild plagues, biological control measures can control the density. Preventive measures such as protecting natural enemies are also essential. “China’s history is a history of fighting against locusts. All dynasties have specially established prevention and control institutions and regulations. After almost 60 years of development, China has made important achievements in the field of locust monitoring and control. We’re willing to share all experience and technology with Pakistani counterparts.” According to Prof ULLAH, In February 2020, China donated USD 4.9 million worth of pesticide to Pakistan to help combat the locusts, as well as technical assistance from a team of experts.
It is learned that the key to eliminating locusts in Pakistan is to limit locusts to breeding places, preventing them from farmlands. The microbial control adopted by China, such as fungi and microsporidia that can parasitize locusts to reduce population density, depends on whether the domestic strains can survive in Pakistan. “So far, the results we have achieved are, on the whole, satisfactory.” The idea of Tu was echoed by Prof ULLAH, “In addition to insecticides such as malathion and cypermethrin, we used a variety of effective biopesticides including Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, Nosema locustae, etc., although the scale of the experiment is limited.”

Locusts swarmed in desert of Pakistan [Photo provided by Hidayat ULLAH]
Regarding future plans, Tu indicated that the Pakistan-China Center for Sustainable Management of Plant Pests and Diseases will be established this year to help Pakistan prevent and control main pests including desert locusts and fall armyworm, by which China is about to establish monitoring sites with Pakistan to monitor the migratory flight of these pests in time.
“Because the migration route of desert locusts is from East Africa across the Atlantic Ocean and into China, with the help of the westerlies, the important stop of these swarms on the way is the Thar Desert. From April to June, they transfer to Pakistan from the Horn of Africa, and move back in October and November. As long as the wind is strong and the population is large enough, the plague will also have a serious impact on China if we fail to take effective measures in a timely manner,” Tu told the reporter.
And Prof ULLAH proposed a more specific suggestion, “in Pakistan, very few are skilled in locust control related R&D. I wish to train graduates in this field or make collaboration with Chinese Universities to get funding for their MS and PhD research.”

Pak-China desert locust control coop protect food security in Pakistan

BEIJING, Feb. 21 (China Economic Net)- “The worst that we have ever seen, ever. I cultivated around

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High-level hybrid wheat collaboration to ensure grain safety in Pakistan​

By Staff Reporter | China Economic Net Feb 23, 2023



BEIJING, Feb. 24 (China Economic Net)- “The World Food Day highlights the need for global efforts to ensure food security in various countries of the world,” last year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted, expressing his concerns over the impending food shortage in the wake of floods. In 2022, devastating floods in Pakistan have destroyed standing crops on millions of hectares.
Undoubtedly, wheat, a staple food, has also been hit hard. About 80 percent of farmers in Pakistan are engaged in wheat production, and the total area of wheat cultivation occupies as much as 40 percent of the total agricultural land in Pakistan. The importance of wheat production in Pakistan cannot be overstated.
In addition to natural disasters such as floods and high temperatures, a series of challenges such as high seed and fertilizer prices also make Pakistan’s “wheat revolution” increasingly urgent. Over the years, a group of Chinese wheat experts working diligently and quietly here. “Hybrid wheat is considered to be the first choice to solve the food crisis in the international agricultural science community," Prof Zhao Changping, Chief Scientist of Hybrid Wheat Research Institute, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, echoed PM Sharif’s concerns.

Prof Zhao Changping in a hybrid wheat field [Photo provided by Hybrid Wheat Research Institute of BAAFS]
“When it comes to China-Pakistan hybrid wheat cooperation, the selection and breeding of hybrid wheat varieties suitable for the local environment requires the cooperation of both parties. Therefore, we have established test stations in Peshawar, Lahore, and Yuanmou in Yunnan Province, which is very similar to Pakistan’s local climate,” Prof Zhao introduced in an exclusive interview with China Economic Net. It is learned that so far, the Chinese team’s hybrid wheat demonstration fields in Pakistan have been maintained at about 3,000-5,000 hectares. “From Peshawar and Islamabad in the north, Lahore in the center to Karachi in the south, our hybrid wheat has performed well in all the major producing regions”, emphasized Zhao.

Prof Zhao (M, front row) participated in hybrid wheat “Field Day” in Pakistan [Photo provided by Hybrid Wheat Research Institute of BAAFS]
“What’s more gratifying is that through the cooperation of scientists from both sides, we discovered that using the Pakistani wheat varieties as distant parent to cross with Chinese wheat, the varieties produced are more dominant. In addition, hybridization of spring wheat in the southern wheat region and winter wheat in the northern wheat region can also produce dominant hybrids.”
“The emergence of new varieties has given us momentum as we solve the two main problems, yield and disease resistance," added Prof Zhang Shengquan, Deputy Director of the Hybrid Wheat Research Institute of BAAFS, “In 2019, after nearly ten years of cooperation, the selected hybrid wheat combinations, such as the new variety BH1683, have increased by more than 20 percent in Pakistan for three consecutive years, and can be widely used in the wheat regions in central and northern Pakistan, including Lahore and Peshawar. In addition, in the joint experiment between China and Pakistan, even if the sowing amount was reduced by 80-90 percent, BH1683 still has the potential to increase yield by 20 percent. After the introduction of the dominant genes of Chinese wheat, its disease resistance is also more advantageous than that of local varieties”

Prof Zhang Shengquan (R3) in a hybrid wheat experimental field in Pakistan [Photo provided by Hybrid Wheat Research Institute of BAAFS]
“Several Pakistani scientists who have been in contact with me for a long time, such as Dr. Muhammad Arif, Department of Agronomy UAP, have mentioned that wheat production in Pakistan has encountered unprecedented challenges. For instance, last year's rare high temperature once again tested Pakistan’s traditional wheat varieties, which has also deepened the understanding of China and Pakistan on the cultivation and application of wheat hybrids to ensure food security. At present, our pace of cooperation is accelerating, and is moving towards the direction of joint research to global food security,” Prof Zhang told the reporter.
“We are working closely with the University of Agriculture, Peshawar and GUARD Agricultural Research & Services Private Ltd. In addition, the Ministry of Science and Technology of Pakistan, in addition, the Ministry of Science and Technology of Pakistan, the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, and the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan have also support us as far as they could.”
At the end of the interview, Professor Zhao noted that this year marks not only the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, but also happens to be the 10th anniversary of China’s hybrid wheat going global. “China-Pakistan hybrid wheat cooperation is a model of high-tech agriculture going international, and a sign of China-Pakistan friendship. It is our incontrovertible mission as agricultural practitioners to develop hybrid wheat to benefit the people of Pakistan and the whole world. I predict that by around 2030, not only Pakistan, not only South Asia, our hybrid wheat will enter the stage of large-scale application in all continents.”

High-level hybrid wheat collaboration to ensure grain safety in Pakistan

BEIJING, Feb. 24 (China Economic Net)- “The World Food Day highlights the need for global efforts to

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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and China have agreed to promote bilateral modern agricultural cooperation by signing a framework agreement on Belt and Road agricultural cooperation.
The agreement was signed at the China- Pakistan Symposium on Modern Agriculture Cooperation at Northwest A&F University, China, China Economic Net reported on Friday.

The agreement was signed by the Northwest A&F University, China National Machinery Industry Corporation (SINOMACH), and the Office of Foreign Affairs Commission, Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee.

The three sides will work together in promoting international agricultural technology cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, training agricultural talents, building overseas agricultural parks and enhancing agricultural industrial chain of BRI countries.

Prof. Zhang Lixin from Northwest A&F University told the media that to facilitate agricultural technology transfer, the university will establish a mechanism for expert exchange with agricultural universities and research institutes in BRI countries.

A resource-sharing platform is proposed at the symposium to share and promote success models.

Projects including agricultural mechanization, deep processing of food, cross-border agricultural trade, agricultural warehousing, international logistics and overseas agricultural parks will be promoted via SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) Demonstration Base for Agricultural Technology Exchange, Yangling Area of China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone and Yangling Comprehensive Bonded Zone.

To support the above efforts, new scholarship programs are in pipeline to train agricultural talents. The overseas agricultural project bases under SINOMACH, including those in Pakistan, will offer opportunities to local students and researchers for study, internship, employment, and entrepreneurship.

The university is also launching new research projects jointly with Pakistani partners.

 

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Pakistani scientists develop local intercropping techs with Chinese experience​

March 2, 2023



ISLAMABAD: A team of young Pakistani agricultural scientists at the National Research Center of Intercropping (NRCI), the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) are researching on strip intercropping technologies with the hope to help their country shrink the import bill of food commodities especially soybean, which already is a huge burden on Pakistan’s economy.

It’s remarkable that the ongoing work there originated from their collaboration with China, but has been optimized specially for Pakistan based on the country’s realities, which has been a shining model of Sino-Pak cooperation in both scientific research and educational exchange.

According to Gwadar Pro on Wednesday, since 2018, Dr. Muhammad Ali Raza, a post-doc who is graduated from Sichuan Agricultural University (SAU), China, has started to promote China’s maize-soybean strip intercropping technology in Pakistan with his professor Yang Wenyu’s support and guidance, which has received good response particularly from local industrialists and progressive farmers in the recent years.

After years of hard work, he has become a productive agronomist and expert in intercropping research in Pakistan.

Under the vision of the IUB Vice Chancellor Prof. Athar Mahboob, the National Research Center of Intercropping was inaugurated on August 11, 2021 to introduce strip intercropping technologies in Pakistan’s agriculture to improve crop yields and soil productivity.

Now, Dr. Muhammad Ali Raza acts as the Director of the center, leading intercropping technology’s popularization in Pakistan.

To date, the center has already developed and optimized the Chinese maize-soybean strip intercropping technology according to local conditions, and conducted trials on the wheat-soybean strip intercropping.

Moreover, to further enhance resource use efficiency and land productivity from the sugar belt of Pakistan, the center is working on developing sugarcane-based intercropping systems.

Recently, the center conducted trials of sugarcane- and wheat-based strip intercropping systems including rapeseed, soybean, clover, and chickpea as secondary crops, with developing the intercropping-specific varieties of these crops.

The center is also conducting research on the different row configurations, particularly the wider strips, with an objective to encourage the mechanization of strip intercropping systems with existing farm machinery in Pakistan.

Following the slogan of “Think Globally, Act Locally”, Sino-Pak cooperation is a special feature of NRCI. The center has signed multi-dimensional MoUs with Sichuan Agricultural University (SAU), Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS), and Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS) to exchange resources, researchers and students, and also has initiated collaboration with the National Soybean Center (NSC), Agro-ecology and Conservation Lab, and Molecular Biology Lab at Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU).

It’s learned that the research at NRCI on the development and optimization of maize-soybean strip intercropping technology using water-saving technologies like drip irrigation is sponsored entirely by GAAS. Later on, GAAS will also help in the transfer and dissemination of the developed technology in Pakistan.

In addition, presently, there are eight researchers in total at NRCI including four agronomists, two breeders, two soil scientists, and one crop modeler, among which five graduated from top-notch Chinese agricultural universities including Sichuan Agricultural University and Nanjing Agricultural University on Chinese scholarships for their Ph.D. studies.

Having been well groomed and trained in the strip-intercropping research and molecular physiology of the crops, they are applying what they learned in China to developing Pakistan’s agriculture sector.

“Learning from Chinese experience through bilateral cooperation would surely train and groom Pakistanis to fight against the current economic calamity.

Particularly, the support of China in agricultural education and training would surely boost agricultural productivity in Pakistan, which will not only stabilize the economic condition of the country but also provide a nearby and cheaper food source to China that could reduce food security pressure on China,” Dr. Muhammad Ali Raza said with the vision of achieving a win-win situation via Sino-Pak agricultural cooperation.

 

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Pakistani scientists are engaged in developing intercropping technology locally with Chinese collaboration..

A team of young Pakistani agricultural scientists at the National Research Center of Intercropping (NRCI) at the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) is researching strip intercropping technologies in hopes of helping their country.
Reducing the import bill of food items, especially soybeans, which is already a huge burden on Pakistan's economy. It is worth noting that the ongoing work there has started with their collaboration with China, but has been adapted specifically for Pakistan based on country realities, which is Pakistan-China collaboration in both scientific research and educational exchange. has been a shining example

 

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Pakistan, China sign agri-cooperation DoU​

Will focus on agricultural industry chain, deep processing of products

App
March 08, 2023

Apart from pre-existing issues compelling MTL to shut down its plants on Fridays, the agriculture income induced demand for the auto sector, also wavered on account of the devastation caused by the recent flooding.

ISLAMABAD: In a move to promote strategic cooperation between China and Pakistan in industry-university research on modern agriculture, documents of understanding (DoU) were signed by the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Weifang Engineering Vocational College, Qingzhou Municipal Government and Weifang National Comprehensive Pilot Agriculture Zone at Weifang last week.

The four sides agreed to work together for promoting agricultural technology cooperation under the framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with focus on construction of the entire agricultural industry chain, deep processing of agricultural products and related industrialisation.

“Agriculture sector in the South Asian region is struggling with low productivity, supply shortfalls, low returns to farmers, lack of advanced technology and lack of trained professionals, and thus threatening our food security,” NUST Pro Rector Academics Dr Osman Hassan noted in his speech on the occasion.

“These problems are closely related to people’s livelihood and well-being, particularly in Pakistan, as it is an agro-economic country with immense potential for crop production and research in agricultural sciences.”

“Currently NUST was actively conducting research including precision agriculture, multispectral sensing of crop fields, agricultural 3D printing and scanning applications, early detection of pathogens and plant disease management,” he said.

“Nevertheless, research on sustainable agricultural resource management systems remains a major challenge for us, and I sincerely believe that the agreements will certainly play an indispensable role in filling these gaps,” he stated.

Dr Hussain Ahmad Janjua, Principal Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences, NUST, while highlighting the practical measures, said “food processing and preservation is a key area for both countries.”

 

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China, Pakistan join hands to establish joint wheat lab

March 13, 2023

Under a new initiative, China-Pakistan joint lab will be established on wheat research. The project will be funded by the Science and Technology Partnership Program of Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).

The newly established lab will be located at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), in partnership with Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). A joint launching ceremony was held recently at QAU and CAAS last week and was also attended by the researchers from both sides and representatives from both embassies.

The joint lab will work on developing new climate resilient wheat varieties using new DNA-based technologies and will provide training to wheat scientists of Pakistan. On the inauguration ceremony, Dr. Sarwat Jahan, Dean of Biological Sciences welcomed this initiative and emphasized that QAU will facilitate the joint activities of the lab. Dr. Zhouhua Cao, First Secretary from Chinese embassy in Pakistan said that China has always extended cooperation to Pakistan on Science and Technology and this new joint lab will have all the support needed from Chinese embassy.

 

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Chinese cooperation in cooking oil...

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2323365021176246

 

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Climate - Smart Agriculture

Experts highlight importance of Climate-Smart agriculture in CPEC projects for food security​

March 22, 2023



ISLAMABAD, Mar 21 (APP):The experts on Tuesday called for a joint Pak-China socio-economic working group under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for promoting agricultural development and uplift to improve crop productivity,

farmland health, and prosperity of farmers through climate-smart agriculture.
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) organized a capacity-building workshop on Climate-Smart Agricultural Cooperation under CPEC here which was moderated by Research Associate, SDPI, Zainab Naeem, and participated by members of academia, experts from the Chinese Embassy, PARC, students, and media.

Senior Advisor and Research Fellow, SDPI Dr Hassan Daud Butt said the joint working group with demonstration centers should be established across the country under the second phase of the CPEC for demonstrations of advanced techniques to train and acquaint farmers with the latest agricultural methodologies for better production.

Dr Butt said the export of agricultural products from Pakistan to China including rice 15%, and soybean 30% with dry red chilies and cherries were growing at a positive pace. Interestingly, he said, the Pakistani fish of Gwadar was being sold in Shenzhen and Urumqi.

He said the latest tech for Climate Smart Agriculture was available in the market due to China but the cost of tech, human resource capacity to absorb it, and poverty due to poor yield were the bottlenecks in Pakistan that should be resolved.

“Climate Change devastation is spiking up and if not addressed will become a security challenge,” he added.

Dr Butt said the economists of the country needed to create synergies between the rural and urban economies to reduce disparity and enhance harmony in the development process. “The government will have to encourage farmers through incentives by making agricultural products more profitable. Aquamarine potential needs to be tapped in Pakistan as China grows rice and shrimp inside the rice paddies,” he added.

Dr Butt underlined that the government would have to ensure housing for farmers, make tech available at cheaper rates and reduce the cost of products and focus on the rural economy.

Second Secretary, Embassy of China (Economic and Commercial), Dr Gu Wenliang said China also faced similar challenges due to climate change and was working to meet the demands of productivity.

He said the government of China had transformed the farmland by building infrastructure for better resilience, use of irrigation technology, and creating a farmland belt intended to enhance agricultural productivity from a new variety of seeds.

Moreover, the Chinese government also created an association of farmers and a new company to develop the agriculture sector that also provided opportunities for the farmers to render their services to that company.

He informed that China had set an ambitious target to phase out pesticides and fertilizer use from the agriculture sector by 2030 and was using biogas technology. He added that drones were widely and commonly used in China for sprinkling seeds and fertilizers. There were specialized farmer companies that helped farmers to manage all services related to farming and crop cultivation, he added.

Dr Wenliang proposed that the Chinese banks, companies and Pakistani counterparts should join hands to provide free seeds and loans for services like mechanization and pesticides and promote contract farming.

Assistant Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Dr Aamer Irshad underlined that country’s agricultural growth rate had declined over the decades from 1960 to 2000 (4%) to 2% from 2000 to 2021. He said that climate change had contributed to it whereas the research bodies related to the sector also did not perform well. He said the water cycle and economy were changing in Pakistan due to climate change.

Dr. Irshad informed that the FAO had the following four policy components in its initiatives focusing on tech to have mitigation and adaptation aspects, profitability should not decline while making adaptation and mitigation, the biodiversity due to its triple planetary crisis nature should be given importance and social norms with a focus on gender balance should be maintained. It should not be disturbed in any farmland while maintaining its specific biodiversity, he added.

SPDI Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri in his opening remarks said that amid rising environmental degradation if adequate measures were not taken in time then the region would have to face the wrath of climate change. He underscored that the FAO announced 2023 as the year of eliminating hunger.

The BISP socio-economic registry data revealed that 66% of the country’s population earned 0.73 cents per capita income whereas the national expenditure survey noted that an average family in Pakistan was spending 57% of its earning on their food, he added.

Dr. Suleri said that the way out was Climate Smart Agriculture and there was a need to learn from the Great Green Wall of China that helped transform the Gobi Desert into a green area. He said there was great economic potential in tapping export opportunities with China.