Dr. Hussain Ahmad Janjua said that One crucial area for both nations to address food security is food processing and preservation.
A Document of Understanding (DoU) was signed in Weifang, China, by the National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan (NUST), the Weifang Engineering Vocational College, the Qingzhou Municipal Government, and the Weifang National Comprehensive Pilot Agriculture Zone in an effort to advance industry-university-research strategic cooperation between China and Pakistan on modern agriculture.
The construction of the entire agricultural industry chain system, deep processing of agricultural products, and related industrialization development were the three main areas of focus for the four parties as they agreed to work together to promote bilateral agricultural technology cooperation within the CPEC framework.
“Agriculture in the South Asian Region is struggling with low productivity, supply shortages, low returns to farmers, a lack of advanced technology, and a lack of trained professionals, threatening our food security,” Pro Rector Academics of NUST Dr. Osman Hassan noted in his speech.
Since Pakistan is an agro-economic nation with enormous potential for crop production and agricultural science research, he said that these issues are closely related to people’s livelihoods and well-being.
According to Dr. Osman Hassan, the NUST is currently engaged in research pertaining to precision agriculture, multispectral crop field sensing, agricultural 3D printing and scanning applications, early pathogen detection, and plant disease management.
“However, research on sustainable agricultural resource management systems continues to be a significant challenge for us, and I sincerely believe that today’s agreements will undoubtedly play an indispensable role in filling these gaps.”
Dr. Hussain Ahmad Janjua, Principal, Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB), NUST, was another conferee who supported his arguments with concrete examples “One crucial area for both nations to address food security is food processing and preservation. Modern food storage techniques and infrastructure must be introduced in Pakistan to extend the shelf life of perishables like fruits and vegetables. Chinese modern technology’s contribution in this area would support research and development in this important field.”
According to Dr. Hussain Ahmad Janjua, there are plans to establish research partnerships with Chinese agricultural universities like Nanjing Agriculture University and research organisations like the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Three DoUs have been signed with Chinese academic and public sector institutes to support collaborative projects in agri-sciences, such as the characterization of molecular and physiological aspects of plants and crops, the development of bio-based fertilizers and pesticides, and export-oriented agricultural enterprises in Qingzhou.
Guests including Chen Wei, Vice Mayor of Qingzhou Municipal Government, Wang Jinming, Vice President of Weifang Engineering Vocational College, and Xiang Yang, Director of China Study Centre at NUST, were present at the ceremony.