BEIJING, A Pakistani student from College of Economics and Management, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (NWAFU), China who has been learning China’s new innovated agricultural technologies since 2015 wants be a bridge for the Pakistan-China cooperation in agriculture.
Mansoor Ahmed Koondhar, a 3rd year PhD student, is majoring in Agriculture and Economic and Management said that China’s smart agriculture, eco-agriculture and the application of new technologies in agriculture including Iot and biomass, are more advanced as compared with Pakistan.
Further, Koondhar said that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) offers a great opportunity for Pakistan to learn from China and accelerate Pakistan’s development.
He also said that under the second phase of CPEC, Pakistan and China should strengthen technology cooperation, so that the agricultural output could significantly improve and the taste of agricultural products would be better.
According to Koondhar Pakistan should use the environmental-friendly organic fertilizer and pesticide to reduce the chemical spray and fertilizer use.
Pakistan should switch to clean and new energy technology such as bioenergy to reduce the contribution of agricultural carbon emissions.
In addition, he said that Pakistan needs the water-saving wheat variety as the nation lacks irrigation water. “That variety will help Pakistan to meet the food demand, and improve farmers’ livelihood,” he added.
Koondhar told China Economic Net (CEN) that the quality of Pakistani mangoes is very good, and Pakistan has already exported mangoes to many countries.
However, the farmers do not have proper processing, packing, and quality standard technology. Therefore, they are doing in a traditional way.
“If the mangoes are divided into different classifications, and properly labeled with better packaging, the farmers will obtain better price,” Koondhar said.
In order to better understand China’s modern agricultural technologies, he has traveled to Heilongjiang Province in northern China and Hainan Province in southern China, and visited many smart agricultural farms.
Last June, Koondhar attended the sixth wheat festival held in Yangling Agricultural High-tech Industry Demonstration Zone in Shaanxi Province China.
Koondhar took part in reaping the wheat, but also learnt more about the wheat seed industry, and understand how to values the local agricultural products.
In 2020, Koondhar visited a dairy farm in the Heyang County, Shaanxi Province. He paid special attention to the operation and management of the dairy farm. He thought Pakistan’s dairy industry is rich, but people need to manage well for maximum profits.
“It will not only help Pakistanis to alleviate poverty, but also contribute to national economy,” he said.
Koondhar further said that he hopes Pakistan and China would enhance cooperation in education, joint research and eco-technology laboratory.
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