Uzair bin Farid

The China-Pakistan Agricultural Corridor (CPAC) will help increase trade and two-way movement of goods between China and Pakistan, said Moazzam Ghurki, President of Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI), at a think tank session. Gurkhi said that the partnership between the two countries on agriculture will help Pakistan revive its agricultural sector. He said that the strategic partnership between the two brotherly countries is capable of weathering any storm.

“CPAC is a project that will serve as a benchmark for peer nations to emulate. In time, it is going to be recognised as one of the most successful models of agricultural revival. We believe in partnership and collaboration. We will collaborate with any country willing to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with us,” the PCJCCI president said. Fang Yulong, Senior Vice President of PCJCCI, said that agriculture in the South Asian region was suffering from low productivity, supply shortfalls, low returns to farmers, lack of advanced technology and trained professionals. He said these factors are reducing agricultural productivity and undermining food security for the people living in the region.

As a representative of China, he also pledged that the country will open up its markets for imports of Pakistani rice, fish, and other agricultural products. He said that China will help their Pakistani friends market their halal food products, and will also supply them with advanced mechanical equipment to boost productivity in agriculture. “It is very important that we address these issues since Pakistan is an agricultural country and a development process centred on agricultural productivity will not only help in the revival of agriculture, but also help Pakistan in its efforts for sustainability,” he said.

Fang stressed the need for advanced research in agri-sciences. “We are actively pursuing research on plant biotechnology, environmental sciences, agri-technology and agribusiness with emphasis on precision agriculture, multi-spectral sensing of crop fields, 3D printing and scanning applications, early detection of pathogens and effective plant disease management,” he said.

PCJCCI Vice President Hamza Khalid said, “We have signed quite a few memorandums with Chinese companies to boost agricultural productivity in Pakistan.” He said that collaboration with China will enable both the countries to share their resources, expertise and knowledge. “It will enable us to work together towards common goals of improving and promoting sustainable methodologies in the agriculture sector,” he added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk