Factors of production in agriculture of Pakistan and China can be complementary to each other, noted Rabbia Nasir, Third Secretary in Pakistani Embassy in China while attending 2022 ChinaSeed Congress and the Nanfan Agricultural Silicon Valley Forum recently.
Both countries need to strengthen cooperation in agriculture and food
security to achieve a win-win solution, Rabbia Nasir added.
As good neighbors and all-weather strategic cooperative partners, Pakistan
and China have been working together to ensure food security with food as
one of the major sources of trade between the two countries, China Economic
Net (CEN) reported.
According to Chinese customs statistics, Pakistan exported $610 million of
agricultural products to China in the first half of 2022, up 30.85 percent
year on year.
Among them, rice exports to China amounted to $345 million. Chinese
investors are also investing more and more in Pakistan’s agricultural
sector.
Both countries are conducting agricultural cooperation under the Belt and
Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative.
To further enhance agricultural cooperation and food security, we should
make the most of the complementary factors of production in agriculture of
both countries, Rabbia Nasir said.
For example, she added, Pakistan can contribute a friendly policy of
affordable production factors, abundant agricultural products and investment
in food processing.
And China can share experience with Pakistan in training, agricultural
modernization, cold chain technology, logistics, seed technology,
agricultural demonstration areas, etc.
As per data from World Economic Forum, the global food security challenge is
straightforward: by 2050, the world must feed 9 billion people.
The demand for food will be much greater than it is today.
The United Nations has set ending hunger, achieving food security and
improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture as the second of
its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the year 2030.
To achieve these objectives, as Rabbia Nasir put it, requires addressing a
host of issues, from gender parity and aging demographics to skills
development and global warming.
Agriculture sectors have to become more productive by adopting efficient
business models and forging public-private partnerships. And they need to
become sustainable by addressing greenhouse gas emissions, water use and
waste, she explained.
