Shafqat Ali
ISLAMABAD, July 19: CPEC Authority chief Lieutenant General Asim Saleem Bajwa (retd) said on Sunday afternoon that Pakistan will become one of the largest cottons producing countries in the world as well as emerge in other agricultural sectors and livestock thanks to CPEC.
Bajwa said that under the CPEC project between Pakistan and China, revolutionary changes were being brought in the agricultural sector in Pakistan which is expected to over the years.
Speaking to executive members of Rahim Yar Khan Chamber of Commerce Chaudhry Muhammad Arif, Dr Umar Jamil and Seth Waqas Majid in Islamabad, he said that a special desk had been set up at CPEC authority to promote corporate farming between China and Pakistan in the fields of agriculture, dairy and livestock.
He expressed that MoUs would be signed between Pakistani farmers and Chinese companies for 10,000 acres of agricultural land. Under which Chinese companies would provide modern machinery, excellent production of seeds.
Significant steps will be taken to produce more dairy animals through modern genetic technology as well as for extraordinary increase in per acre production, Bajwa said.
He said that under this project many steps would be taken to increase cotton production in Pakistan and Pakistan would no longer need to import cotton in the next few years. He further said that the 810 km long motorway from Gwadar to Sukkur would be completed soon
The CPEC Authority chief said that thousands of acres of land had been allotted to Chinese companies for corporate farming along highways, which would help in the next one to two years in Balochistan and Sindh. During this time, the production of cotton will increase dramatically.
On this occasion, Chaudhry Muhammad Arif, Dr Umar Jamil, Seth Waqas Majid and others assured the Chairman CPEC Authority that the business and farmers community of the district would be increasingly involved in new projects in the country. A real green revolution could be brought, they added.
They also suggested to Chairman CPEC Authority to conduct a major awareness seminar at Rahim Yar Khan Chamber of Commerce for the promotion of CPEC’s agricultural and livestock projects which he accepted.
