ISLAMABAD, July 25 (ABC): Chairman of Pakistan Hi Tech Hybrid Seed Association (PHHSA) Shahzad Ali Malik called for Pakistani farmers to use modern Chinese agricultural technologies to get bumper crops in order to make the country self-sufficient in food.
Mr. Malik said Pakistani growers should acquaint themselves with new technologies like mechanized direct-seeded rice (DSR), which saves 50 percent of water. He said DSR is a technically and economically feasible and eco-friendly alternative to conventional puddled transplanted rice.
Development of new rice varieties for direct seeding along with proper management practices can help in adoption of DSR. ‘’Seed priming technology can help us get rid of the problem of poor establishment of crop and can be further improved. Pakistan is among the top 10 producers of rice in the world contributing around eight percent to the world’s rice trade.’’
He feared that unavailability of timely supply of water and power might affect the target of 8.6m tons of rice set by the federal committee on agriculture and urged rice growers to sow the best quality hi-tech hybrid seeds for better yield to export.
‘’During the first quarter of the last Fiscal Year 2021-2022, China imported more than 601.575 tons of different varieties of rice from Pakistan. The Chinese technology helped Pakistan in rice processing and maintaining quality. Rice exports to China are increasing substantially annually.
Broken rice is also in great demand in the Chinese markets,’’ said the PHHSA chairman. He said 53 Pakistani rice enterprises are on the approval list of the General Administration of Customs China.
According to the Trade Development Authority Pakistan (TDAP), Pakistan’s exports to China in June 2022 increased by 8% to US$251.30 million as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year when it was recorded at US$232.74 million.