China to set up agricultural machinery plants in Punjab

LAHORE: A high-level Chinese delegation visiting Punjab on the invitation of Punjab agriculture minister has announced to establish plants for manufacturing of state-of-the-art agricultural machinery in the province.

According to the delegation, Chinese machinery manufactured locally will match the purchasing power of farmers, and equipment produced in Chinese company plants in Punjab will be tailored to local needs. The delegation further shared that locally produced machinery will also be exported, and Chinese agricultural experts will play an active role in capacity building of Punjab’s agricultural scientists.

The Chinese delegation disclosed this during a meeting with the officials of the agriculture department on Friday. Punjab Secretary Agriculture Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, Secretary Livestock Punjab Ahmad Aziz and other high officials also attended the meeting. Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo welcomed the delegation on behalf of the Agriculture Department. The performance of the working groups formed between the Agriculture Department and Chinese companies was comprehensively reviewed.

Speaking on the occasion, Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said that during the visit to China, five important Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed, which included satellite-based crop monitoring, revival of cotton and seed R&D, technical assistance for establishing a centre of excellence and high-tech farm mechanization program.

He added that the recommendations for implementing these MoUs have been finalized. He stated that there is a vast scope for high-tech farm mechanization in Punjab, and according to the vision of the Chief Minister Punjab, China’s cooperation is essential for materializing farm mechanization in the province. The Chief Minister is providing generous resources to transform agriculture in Punjab. He further said that China is a global leader in modern agricultural technology, and the Government of Punjab will provide full facilitation to Chinese companies manufacturing advanced agricultural machinery.

The Chinese delegation stated that practical steps have already begun to adopt China’s agricultural model in Punjab, and cooperation for promoting farm mechanization in the province will be further strengthened.