by Wang Huan, Tang Binhui

ISLAMABAD/JINAN, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Farmers in Lahore, the capital city of Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, received special peanut seeds. Delivered from Weifang city in east China's Shandong province, these seeds are of new varieties developed under China and Pakistan's peanut breeding propagation and promotion project.

As peanut sowing season begins in Pakistan, personnel from both sides of the project communicate and collaborate more frequently. Through online meetings, Chinese technicians help Pakistani farmers check peanut growth and provide professional guidance on field management.

"Thanks to China so much for offering high-quality seeds. Peanuts grow well and yield high, and we plan to extend planting area in the future," said local farmer Babar Abbas through an online meeting. Though thousands of miles apart and having never met, people on both sides show great enthusiasm and friendliness to each other.

In 2016, Shandong Rainbow Agricultural Technology Co. Ltd in Weifang city embarked on the agricultural cooperation project. After years of selective breeding, in 2023, the company exported the first batch of original peanut seeds to Pakistan. These seeds were used for variety expansion and large-scale planting in Attock and Chakwal of Punjab Province, covering an area of around 66 hectares.

"We have successfully tested and planted five new peanut varieties in Pakistan, with an average yield of twice higher than the local varieties. This has been recognized by the local government and farmers," Fan Changcheng, vice general manager of the company told Xinhua, adding that it plans to expand the trial planting area to around 132 hectares this year.

Peanut is one of the primary cash crops in Pakistan, a major consumer of edible oil. However, lacking high-quality varieties and efficient production techniques, Pakistan is constrained by low edible oil production, with a yield of approximately one ton per hectare. China's high-oleic peanut varieties yield about four tons per hectare, indicating significant potential for cooperation between the two countries.

Imran Mehmood, a 35-year-old who studied in China for many years, joined the Chinese company two years ago. As the technical director, he participated in the peanut breeding and cultivation project and is responsible for the coordination with Pakistan in this project.

"Pakistan and China always share historic evergreen, friendly relationships. I hope I can become the bridge for this friendship and bring advanced agricultural technologies from China to Pakistan," said Mehmood.

Not only can this project enhance the local farmers' income, but also reduce Pakistan's reliance on imported edible oils, he added.

The company is an example of cooperation between the eastern Chinese city and Pakistan. Since the establishment of the China-Pakistan Agricultural Cooperation Center in Weifang in March 2023, more than 10 Pakistani agricultural companies have negotiated cooperation with Chinese enterprises.

Talking about the progress of cooperation, Fan told Xinhua that there are some cooperative projects, including peanut breeding and cultivation, tissue culture of potato and ginger, cotton pest and disease control, and agricultural technology training, in order to introduce new varieties of peanuts, potatoes, and ginger to Pakistan and enhance crop yields and the quality of germplasm resources.

"Pakistan has a large population and an urgent need for industrial upgrading. We hope these projects will help the country to build the whole industrial chain system of agriculture," said the Chinese manager.

Launched in 2013, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is a corridor linking the Gwadar Port in southwest Pakistan's Balochistan province with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport, and industrial cooperation in the first phase, while the new phase expands to fields of agriculture and livelihood, among others.

During the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held last October in Beijing, both China and Pakistan agreed to enhance collaboration on crop cultivation, plant and animal disease control, agricultural mechanization, technology exchange, and agricultural product trade.

"The BRI is a far-reaching initiative comprising many projects and investments aiming to boost connectivity and socio-economic status of Pakistan, including energy, transportation, electricity, and other fields," said Mehmood.

China has significant advantages in crop varieties, industrial chains, technologies and equipment, while Pakistan possesses strengths in land and labor resources, and agricultural cooperation between the two countries will create more mutual benefits, he added. Enditem

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