RAHIM YAR KHAN: A local agriculture farm in collaboration with Chinese experts and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) launched a research project involving ‘One Belt One Road Water Saving Technology’ (OBORWST) at Chak 8-P, Khanpur, some 54km from here on Tuesday.

The progressive farmers of Bilal Agriculture Farms, Arshad Javed and Bilal Arshad told journalists that because of increasing shortage of irrigation water and insufficient dams, agriculture sector was being adversely affected.

Mr Arshad said that to make for the irrigation water shortage at his farm he entered a joint venture with Chinese agriculture experts -- Prof Dr Yanjun Shen, Prof Dr Jiansheng Cao, Dr Leilei Min, and Dr Muhammad Umair -- who visited Pakistan and the UAF. The Chinese experts and UAF jointly introduced a new technology that was used to cultivate crops with less water.

He said the team of experts from China not only displayed the latest equipment used for the technology but also launched the three-year experimental research work on it.

He said the project would be a big achievement for the local agriculture sector and benefit the farmers.

The Chinese experts said OBORWST was a joint venture of Centre of Agriculture Resource Research, China, China Academy of Sciences, UAF and Bilal Farms.

They said it was a good sign that the initiative was taken by a farmer of a small city of southern Punjab.

They also gave a demonstration of the latest equipment used in OBORWST.

On the occasion, the visitors to the exhibition also chanted slogans lauding Pakistan, China friendship.

Local farmers presented traditional shawls (Ajrak) to the Chinese guests.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2018