Pakistan, China to boost cooperation in agri sector

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan needed to strengthen commercial promotion and marketing for its agricultural products to enhance exports to China.

This was stated by Gu Wenliang, the Agriculture Commissioner, Embassy of China to Pakistan at a webinar held by the Vehari Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gwadar Pro reported on Thursday.

He said agriculture is one of the key cooperation industries under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

According to Gu, both of the Chinese and Pakistani governments are committed to strengthening agricultural industry cooperation and encouraging more Chinese enterprises to invest in Pakistan and set up joint venture with potential local partners.

The agricultural industry cooperation will not only increase Pakistan’s yields of crops and keep its food security, but also improve its agricultural products exports to China and other countries and regions.Gu pointed out that thete is great potential for China-Pak agricultural cooperation in the four areas.

Firstly, the seed. Now, the average yield of wheat is only 3 tons per hectare in Pakistan, which can be improved substantially by taking the high-yield, anti-drought variety with resistance to insects and pests.

As for rice cultivation, China’s hybrid rice technology is recommended. The Gmo cotton is also proper to be applied in Pakistan.For sugar cane and potato, the virus free tissue culture sapling could be a good choice.

Second, China has many technologies suitable for crops in Pakistan, including compound planting, smart agriculture, water-saving irrigation and greenhouse.

Recently, two Pakistani students from China’s Sichuan Agricultural University, use the maize-soybean strip intercropping technology in Punjab, which has achieved satisfactory results by now.The greenhouse planting can also promote the development of vegetables, edible fungus and flowers in Pakistan.