Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) chairman has said that the council attaches great importance to collaborate with China in various sectors including agricultural development for ensuring food security and poverty alleviation in South Asia.

Presiding over a meeting with a four-member Chinese delegation held at the PARC Headquarters on Thursday, the PARC chairman briefed the delegation about the projects undertaken by the PARC in several areas across the country. During his presentation, he said that China was very good in foods value addition, post-harvest technologies, agricultural engineering and other areas.

Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (YAAS), Vice Chairman P R China Zhanyi Wang, led the Chinese delegation. Head of Tropical Fruit Centre at Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Cash Crops (ITSCC) Zhangguang Ni, Deputy Director Xinping Luo and senior researcher Faming Zhang were the members of the visiting delegation.

A team of PARC scientists comprising of National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) Director General Dr Muhammad Azeem Khan, Member Plant Sciences Dr Ahmad Bakhsh Mahar, Horticultural Research and Development Institute senior Director Dr Khalid Mahmood Qureshi, International Coordination Director Dr Altaf Sher, Horticulture Director Dr Hafeezur Rehman, Crop Director Dr Muhammad Asim, Wheat National Coordinator Dr Atiqur Rehman Rattu and PR and Protocol Director Sardar Ghulam Mustafa participated in the meeting and highlighted PARC achievements in various fields of agriculture. Dr. Hafeezur Rehman explained the purpose of the visit of the Chinese delegation to Pakistan.

The delegation showed its interest in sharing of mango germ plasm, and collaboration in other tropical and subtropical fruits.

Earlier, the delegation visited the NARC and its institute of Plant Genetic Resources, Gene-Bank, Citrus Screen House and other field crops area. They were very much impressed from PARC scientists’ research work and experiments of various horticultural and field crops at the centre. At the end of meeting, PARC shields were awarded to Chinese delegations.

The Chinese delegation during their visit to Pakistan would also visit Sargodha citrus production area, and Multan mango production area to finalise their collaboration.