Strengthening agri industry stressed

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Roomi Agriculture Company and China’s Zibo Academy of Agricultural Sciences signed a Cooperation Framework Agreement focused on the castor industry, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Wednesday.

Additionally, they will design digital models for the pre-planting, mid-planting, and post-harvest stages. The agreement outlines their collaboration in scientific breeding, planting technology, deep processing, and marketing of castor products. Castor seed cultivation is highly sensitive to environmental factors, particularly water availability.

Under the agreement, a Shandong-based agricultural company will oversee seed production, provide technical support, develop digital cultivation technologies, and research and manufacture digital water-fertilizer equipment. Zibo Academy of Agricultural Sciences has developed castor germplasm resources that are resistant to herbicides and tolerant of salt and alkali through field hybridisation, biotechnology, and molecular breeding. The academy will oversee variety selection, cultivation techniques, and provide support for industry chain information. Roomi Agriculture will promote large-scale castor bean cultivation on its own farms as well as on partner farms.