Major agricultural R&D programme: Pakistan China institutions to collaborate

HYDERABAD: Sindh Agriculture University (SAU), Tandojam, and the Crop Research Institute of the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS), China, have formally agreed to submit a joint application for China’s 2026 National Key Research and Development Programme under the category of Intergovernmental International Science and Technology Cooperation.

The MoU, signed simultaneously in Pakistan and China, represents a significant step towards strengthening collaboration in modern agricultural sciences, technological innovation, and academic exchange between the two countries. From SAU, Engr Prof Dr Altaf Ali Siyal, Vice Chancellor, signed the agreement, while Zhang Jianping, Director of the Crop Research Institute at GAAS, represented China.

Under the proposed project, both institutions will work jointly on screening, breeding, and large-scale demonstration of new stress-resistant flax varieties tailored to the climatic conditions of Pakistan and China. The research will also encompass flax molecular breeding, plant protection, agricultural machinery, and technology dissemination, aiming to introduce cutting-edge innovations to both countries’ agricultural sectors.

The partnership further envisions enhancing scientific and educational capacity through joint research projects, faculty exchanges, postgraduate mobility programs, academic conferences, training seminars, and exchanges of academic materials, journals, and scientific data.

SAU’s Professor Dr Allah Wadhayo Gandahi, an expert in soil science and Head of Oil Palm Research and Development, will serve as the lead representative from Pakistan. The project will be coordinated and implemented in China by Researcher Zhao Wei from GAAS’s Crop Research Institute.

The agreement, valid for five years with the possibility of extension by mutual consent, is designed as a long-term platform for modern agricultural technology transformation, with a particular focus on improving productivity in cold and arid regions of both countries.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025