Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has reiterated his determination to transform Pakistan’s agricultural sector and said that it is inevitable to develop the agricultural sector on modern lines for sustainable economic development.
In this regard, one thousand agricultural graduates are being sent to China for training, who have been selected on merit.
After benefiting from modern agricultural technology in China, our youth will play a full role in agricultural development after returning home. We will provide loans to the youth on easy terms for the promotion of small-scale industry and value addition at the rural level in Pakistan.
He was addressing a ceremony held here on Wednesday to send 300 students to China in the first phase of Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif’s plan to send 1,000 agriculture graduates to China on scholarships for higher training to enhance the capacity of the agriculture sector.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zedong and Federal Minister for Food Research and Development Rana Tanveer Hussain also addressed the ceremony, and the students who went to China also shared their impressions with the participants.
The Prime Minister said in his address that today is an important day when our young graduates are going to the friendly country of China to benefit from modern agricultural technology and it is expected that they will return and play a role in the country’s agricultural development with this experience.
He said that we visited this modern agricultural university during our visit to China and saw the research and development work there, which was impressive.
During this time, we decided to send 1,000 agriculture graduates here to benefit from this experience.
He said that we are grateful to the Chinese leadership for providing this facility in China for Pakistanis.
They are and express their best wishes for them. He said that Pakistani students will play the role of a bridge between China and Pakistan.
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He also thanked the Minister and Secretary IT for their assistance in creating a portal for the selection of students. He said that this program was dropped twice.
We wanted to send the youth who are the hope of the nation, but for the first time a large number of government employees were involved in it, most of whom were above 50 years of age.
Their experience is worthy of respect, but along with experience, there was a need to include the energies of the youth. Similarly, the second effort was not of the quality that was expected.
IT Ministry
Then the IT Ministry created the portal and today this phase was completed. Youth from all four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir are also participating in it.
On this occasion, the Prime Minister also inquired from the youth about the merit for the selection and the youth appreciated it. The Prime Minister said that Rs 3 billion has been allocated for this project.
Merit will be taken into account in the next two phases as well. Balochistan An additional quota of 10 percent has been kept.
He said that Pakistan is a federation of four units and unless all four units develop equally, Pakistan will not be able to move on the path of development.
Pakistan’s development will happen only when all four provinces play a role in development together. The Prime Minister said that China is our close friend and China’s role is eternal at critical times.
China is Pakistan’s partner in difficult times and we should never forget a partner in difficult times. Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar are all partners in difficult times.
He said that the youth should benefit from the experiences there through sweat and hard work during training in China and come back and apply this technology here so that agricultural production can double.
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He said that we have to revive our agricultural research institutions. Young blood and experience can improve these agricultural research centers and make Pakistan’s agricultural development four moons.
He said that he is confident that these youth will not only fulfill the hard work and hopes of their parents but also work hard to bring a revolution in the development and prosperity of Pakistan.
He said that during training, the best skills have to be acquired in mechanized farming, digitalized crop management, eco-friendly seeds, and there are immense opportunities for small and medium cotton industry in rural areas, for which loans will be given to the youth on easy terms.
Technology, Cold Storage
Due to the lack of cold storage, a large number of fruits are being wasted in our rural areas. These measures will change life in the villages.
A plan has been made for the textile industry there, loans will be given to the youth in collaboration with the provinces, and there they will focus on gardens and move towards value addition. We have to provide a conducive environment.
On this occasion, Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is making efforts to increase productivity in the agriculture and livestock sectors.
He highlighted that the government is spending more than Rs 3 billion to provide young agricultural graduates with knowledge and experience from China.
He expressed hope that these graduates would effectively use their skills and knowledge upon their return home.
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Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zedong said that he was very impressed with the performance of the Pakistani government in the past one year, during which the country’s macroeconomic indicators have improved significantly.
He said that the Chinese government is ready to strengthen bilateral relations with Pakistan, especially in the agricultural sector.
He stressed that President Xi Jinping has always attached great importance to its relations with neighboring countries.
