Chines Academy of Tropical Agriculture Sciences and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad on Monday inked a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in the area of academia and research especially in the agriculture.

The MoU was duly signed by Chines Institute Vice President Dr LIU Guodao and UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Muhamad Ashraf. Dr LIU Guodao said that through the collaboration, we will able to learn from each other experiences. He said that Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) is the national institution engaged in tropical agricultural research and development as well as graduate student education. He said that it is engaged in researches on tropical fruits, tropical bio-fuel crops, tropical vegetables, tropical textile fiber crops, tropical oil crops, and crops, tropical medicinal crops, agricultural machinery, environment and plant protection, biotechnology, genetic resource conservation and development for tropical agriculture, as well as agro-product quality and safety standards formulation and monitoring and test technology for tropical agriculture. Dr Muhammad Ashraf said China has adopted a model of small scaled implements for small farmers, he said, adding that the university had taken up the challenges of developing small implements as more than 90 percent of our farming community consisted of small farmers. He stressed upon the need to learn from the Chinese experiences in farm machinery value addition and seed. He said that Pakistan was producing abundant and good quality agri produces, but we could not able to earn foreign exchange. It was because of lack of value additions and not following modern trends and international standards. He said that China is Pakistan’s fair-weather friend as she always stands with us in difficult times. He said that UAF research portfolio had touched to 3 billion. The meeting discussed fruits, vegetable and crops. UAF Dean Agriculture Dr Muhammad Aslam, Institute of Horticulture Science Director Dr Aman Ullah Malik, Director Research Dr Zahir Ahmad Zahir, Director External Linkages Dr Rashed Ahmad and other notables attended the meeting.