Recently, the first batch of equipment for the Million Acres of green Pakistan Smart Farm Project participated by Chinese water-saving industry leader, Tianjin Dayu Irrigation Group, has been packed and delivered.
The batch of intelligent water and fertilizer integrated irrigation equipment covering a farmland area of 2,000 hectares will be used for the planting and irrigation of wheat, cotton, tomatoes, corn and other crops, providing vital technical support for the construction of smart farms in Pakistan.
On July 7, 2023, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif launched the LIMS (Land Information and Management System) initiative, which aims to promote modern agricultural development, improve agricultural productivity and meet the food needs of Pakistan’s growing population through the application of advanced technology and modern irrigation systems, among which the Million Acres of Green Pakistan Smart Farm Project as a response to and support for this initiative.
“Agriculture is Pakistan’s pillar industry. The world’s most advanced technology will help us increase production. It can not only be as self-use, but will also be of great help to our food exports in the future. At the same time, Dayu Group has also made considerable achievements in flood prevention, disaster early warning, rural sewage treatment, and so on. We hope to cooperate closely with Dayu in multiple dimensions,” said Ghulam Qadir, Pakistan’s Commercial Counselor in China.
Cui Jing, senior vice president of Dayu Group, echoed that Pakistani partners are very interested in Dayu’s rural sewage treatment project in Tianjin and farmer drinking water safety project in Ningxia. “If this cooperation is successful, these two types of projects will also be introduced to Pakistan. Beyond doubt, our prospects for future cooperation are very broad.”
Pakistan suffers from chronic water shortages. In addition to residential water, the country devotes almost three-quarters of its water supply to cultivating its water-intensive crops: approximately 23 percent for wheat, 21 percent for rice, 19 percent for sugar cane, and 14 percent for cotton especially, which supports Pakistan’s pillar textile industry, requires a large amount of water to maintain its long growth cycle as a water-loving crop.
In the meantime, northern metropolis Tianjin is a resource-based water-scarce city, where has focused on promoting green manufacturing and forming a water-saving model for the entire industry chain from water sources to processes to products in past few years. This bilateral cooperation focuses on long-term development to gradually transfer the mature management experience of “tridimensional water management” of agricultural water conservation, safe drinking water for farmers, and rural sewage treatment to Belt and Road partners including Pakistan.
