Until recently, Sino-Pak cooperation regarding banana cultivation was still very limited. Lack of high-quality seeds, advanced cultivation technology and logistic facility remains a large obstacle to boosting banana production and exports in Pakistan, for which Pakistani researchers and farmers are looking forward to getting support from China.
When it comes to planting technology, research on tissue culture of banana is being carried out in some labs in Pakistan. “The production of tissue culture banana is three times higher than that of our conventional banana. Conventional banana harvests in 16 to 18 months while our tissue culture banana fruits in the seventh month. Tissue culture banana is disease free and harsh weather tolerant. The production of plants produced in our lab lasts throughout the year. People get a lot of benefit from it,” said Nosherwan Haider, CEO, Sprouts Biotech Laboratories.
However, as Nosherwan Haider sees it, in most areas of Pakistan, the growing of banana is not as per proper method, which makes banana production not as high as it should be. Pakistani researchers long for Chinese technologies that may help Pakistan further improve local banana yield.
Enhancing Sino-Pak cooperation on banana cultivation is expected to bring win-win outcomes to both countries in the days to come. “China and Pakistan can collaborate through joint research. We can progress and get benefit from each other. … We can benefit from China by getting some technologies related to agricultural practices and hybrid varieties. China will also get benefit and we can export bananas to China through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” Nosherwan Haider said.
Source: en.ce.cn