Pakistan with the assistance of China under the bilateral cooperation have successfully sowed the new variety of hybrid Canola on 100 acres of land in Gujranwala, district of province Punjab. A serial field training for Pakistani canola farmers was inaugurated in the canola that was attended by farmers, seed distributors, and agricultural technicians and journalists as they were gathered to learn about the cultivation and harvesting technology of hybrid canola.

While addressing the event, Zhou Xusheng, director of the international business department of Wuhan Qingfa Hesheng Seed company that his company is working on transferring technology to Pakistan to make it efficient in smart agriculture. "Through this project, we want to transfer the harvesting technology through which the farmers can use some attachments on the harvesters they already have and reduce the wastage," he said.

His company also wants to introduce processing units across the country, through which even in villages people can install them and produce processed oil for themselves and sell it to others, Zhou added. He said that the seed is suitable for the environment across Pakistan, and this year they sold 11 tons of seeds across the country, which will be cultivated on 20,000 acres, and their target for next year is 100 tons, which will bring a great change to Pakistan by helping the country become self-sufficient in edible oil production.

The Chinese company will also buy back the canola harvest from some of the farmers and send it to the edible oil factories so that both farmer and the factory owners can realize the potential and health benefits of the oil, Zhou added. "When Pakistan imports oil, it spends a lot of money and receives only the finished product. But when oil is produced locally, it will generate job opportunities, build an industrial chain and utilize the cakes after oil extraction as power-packed canola meal for cattle," he added.

The hybrid canola, with seeds provided by China's Wuhan Qingfa Hesheng Seed Company, is being planted on 80,000 hectares of land in Pakistan this year, particularly in Punjab and Sindh. At the beginning of next month, a bumper harvest is expected that will translate into tens of thousands of tons of edible oil, and a demonstration mechanized harvest will be staged with harvesters from China.

"We enjoy higher yield from this hybrid variety HC-021C. It has much more branches as compared to other mustard or canola plants. I hope it will provide an average of 35 mounds per acre", canola farmer Nasir Cheema told media at the event. "Its fertility period is 8-10 days shorter than others, and its lower heights make it more unlikely to be beaten down by strong wind", he added. From 2021 to 2022, Pakistan imported around $3.6 billion edible oil, accounting for 89% of nation's total supply. In the next year, the company aims for 130,000 tons of canola seeds, which will produce 49,000 tons of edible oil worth $80 million.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP