Pak-China cooperation in sorghum can boost local economy
Sorghum is an excellent source of food and feed and plenty of products can be made from it therefore, there are ample opportunities for the sorghum industry in Pakistan and help of China would definitely improve the local economy, said, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute Senior Scientist (Sorghum) Dr Qamar Shakil.
Shakil said that mutual cooperation between the two countries can be strengthed by long-term and short-term cooperation, seeking the future opportunities for expansion of sorghum production, export and development in Pakistan. There is a need to take advantage of Chinese technology and experience under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in this field.
Since China is a major importer of sorghum grain for manufacturing of various products, there is plenty room to expand the export of the commodity to China. Secondly, the quality of sorghum grain produced in Pakistan for processing and extraction of different products is far better than that of other countries.
Qamar stated that the environment of Pakistan was most suitable for developing quality sorghum crops for grain, green chop, silage, haylage, and hay purposes.
“As sorghum is a kharif (summer) season crop, therefore it does not compete with our staple crop (wheat), so there is plenty of cushion for its cultivation in Pakistan for export purposes,” he added. “Finally in order to boost the economy by virtue of exports sorghum crop can play a pivotal role.”
Shakil said that sorghum hybrids were used worldwide for the production of grain and green chop but unfortunately, very little research was being done in Pakistan on it. China has made massive advancement in this regard therefore its expertise can be used for the development and improvement of research regarding hybrids development.
He further said that flood irrigation was mostly used in Pakistan. Due to the scarcity of water, there is a need to develop new reservoirs for water storage (small scale) and efficient utilisation of available water through improved irrigation techniques.
Creation of farmers’ union
Experts believe that in order to produce sorghum crops on a large scale, there is a need to create farmers’ associations for understanding the problems involved in sorghum production on a large scale and for resolving these issues. Likewise establishing farmer-based associations would allow for the pooling of acres and farms into large entities that would benefit from technology.
For fetching out higher sorghum grain and fodder tonnage from unit area, there is a need to educate the farmers regarding adaptation of sorghum production plan. Dr Qamar Shakil further said that for meeting the sorghum grain and green chopped world standards, especially for export to China, there is a dire need to develop state of the art internationally accredited research laboratory to facilitate the rapid export of sorghum grain to China.
THE ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED ON THE CHINA ECONOMIC NET
Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2022.
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