Pakistan, China agree to set up pest management lab

Joint initiative will help make food secure, manage crop diseases

BEIJING:

The University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) and the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (IPPCAAS) have signed a Letter of Intent in Beijing for establishing a Pakistan-China joint laboratory for crop pest management.

The two sides will kick-start operation of the joint laboratory and carry out tests, demonstrations and joint research on integrated disease control technologies for crop pests and diseases of common concern in addition to technical personnel training and personnel exchange and training, according to IPPCAAS.

“Pakistan suffers a lot from the pest problem. For example, the white fly is affecting cotton, citrus, guava, etc. Sometimes consignments of our fruits and vegetables exported to different Middle Eastern countries are rejected due to the presence of fruit flies and residues of pesticide,” said UAF Department of Entomology Chairman Professor Muhammad Jalal Arif. Out of the 1,300 molecules of pesticides registered in Pakistan, not a single is able to control white fly.

Besides, Pakistan is also facing the issue of economic threshold level and economic injury level. “When we decide to manage or control any pests, we must go by pest scouting, pest monitoring and assessment of pest population. When they exceed a certain number, we decide to apply pesticide with the help of different equipment and tools,” Arif said.

“For the last 75 years, we have an old threshold and injury level, which should be revised in the days to come.”

According to UAF Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialisation Director Professor Muhammad Jafar Jaskani, this collaboration is part of Pakistan’s efforts towards climate-smart agriculture. “It would be good to secure food for future generations. So genetic change and biotechnology are the tools which can make the food secure in both countries,” Jaskani observed.

UAF Department of Entomology’s Dr Abid Ali believed that the collaboration holds national significance for Pakistan.

“Faisalabad is the city of textile. The presence of a Special Economic Zone calls for augmented research to underpin its industrial development. We also have Confucius institute that has trained 6,000 students who have passed different levels of Chinese language and can act as a bridge for cooperation between the two sides,” he hoped.

THE ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED ON THE CHINA ECONOMIC NET

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2023.

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