Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) President Shah Faisal Afridi stresses the need for increasing agricultural yields through "Eco-Farming" to avert the expected food crises. While introducing the Chinese Cultivation Model of "Eco-Farming" in a discussion session held at PCJCCI today on "Regaining the Pakistani Agriculture Strength", Afridi urged the government to take measures to follow Chinese Cultivation model to avoid the expected food crisis in Pakistan.
He said Chinese cultivation model involved usage of hybrid seeds, better water management, increased role of government for ensuring effective safety and support mechanisms such as making a reservoir of food grain and also public-private partnerships to overcome the future food crisis.
He said China, accounting for only 10 percent of arable land, produces food for 20 percent of the world's population and it ranks first in worldwide farm output. "It is because they have devised different techniques to increase the yield of crops just by making use of nature, and such farming is termed as, "Eco-Farming", Afridi said and demanded implementation of Chinese model of farm mechanization practices at the earliest possible in Pakistan.
While explaining the environment friendly techniques used by China for effective farming, he quoted the example of increasing yield of rice through methods such as Rice duck farming, in which ducks are raised on rice paddies and feed on pests and weeds, which means the farmer doesn't have to use earth and water-ravaging chemical pesticides and herbicides on their plants. Duck droppings are also an excellent, natural fertiliser for rice plants. Similarly, growing two or more crops in proximity helps reduce disease outbreaks. The technique is particularly effective at reducing loss from rice blast disease, a destructive fungus that causes damage on panicles and leaves, killing them before rice grains form, he added.
Afridi quoted the comparison of per hectares yields of Pakistan and China, he said Pakistan's per hectare rice yield is 3.1 ton whereas China is the largest producer of rice with per hectare yield of 6.5 ton, similarly Pakistan produces pulses per year with per hectare yield of 0.6 ton and China produces 1.2 ton per hectare which is twice that of Pakistan. Pakistan's sugar cane production is 52.4 ton per hectare whereas China obtains a yield of 65.7 ton per hectare. Therefore, Chinese cultivation pattern is the best model to be implemented on the land of Pakistan in order to cope with the upcoming expected food crises, Afridi asserted.
Highlighting the severity of food crises issue Afridi said the price of food items such as vegetables, chicken and meat has increased by more than 20 percent just in one month, which has further made the half of the population of country food insecure. It is stated that 50 percent of the population is taking less calories recognised for average human need. He further added that, the current crisis would worsen if the government fails to come up with an informed policy and decisions.
In this situation the government should allocate land to locals in association with Chinese to obtain farm productivity on the same pattern as Chinese are doing. Corporate farming trend should be introduced to compensate rising inflation and high input prices through which agricultural productivity can be increased, he added. President PCJCCI further suggested that co-operative society model could be introduced under specialised technical support with Chinese collaboration through national productivity organisation in Pakistan where people can join hands, pool their resources-invest and deduct all expenses to share fortune.
He said Chinese Model of Eco-Farming ensures healthy farming and healthy food for today and tomorrow by protecting soil, water and climate; promotes biodiversity and does not contaminate the environment with chemical inputs or genetic engineering.
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