300 Pakistani Students Complete Agricultural Training in China
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday that the first group of 300 Pakistani agricultural graduates has completed practical training in China’s Shaanxi province. The initiative is part of a collaborative agricultural training programme between Pakistan and China.
Initially announced in July last year, the programme aims to send 1,000 Pakistani students to China for advanced vocational training in modern farming techniques, fully funded by the government. The first batch began their studies during the 2024–25 academic year, while future batches will undergo Chinese language instruction in Pakistan before heading abroad.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Prime Minister Shehbaz expressed his satisfaction with the programme’s progress, noting that the students were trained in key areas such as efficient irrigation, seed technology, livestock management, agricultural productivity, and reducing post-harvest losses.
He extended his gratitude to the Chinese government, the provincial authorities in Shaanxi, and the partnering institutions—North West Agriculture and Forestry University and Yangling Vocational and Technical College—for their role in making the initiative a success.
The Prime Minister also acknowledged the efforts of Pakistan’s Ministry of National Food Security, the Higher Education Commission (HEC), and the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing for their contributions to the programme’s success.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy also shared a congratulatory message on X, applauding the graduates and expressing hope that they would contribute meaningfully to Pakistan’s agricultural advancement and bilateral cooperation in the sector.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz reaffirmed his government’s commitment to modernising Pakistan’s agriculture sector, stressing its importance for sustainable economic development.
Despite these efforts, the recently released Pakistan Economic Survey revealed that the agriculture sector, which makes up nearly a quarter of the country’s GDP, grew by only 0.6% in the fiscal year 2024–25—well below the 2% target and far short of the previously projected 6.4%. Key crops like wheat, cotton, and maize saw a steep decline, shrinking by 13.5%, compared to an earlier forecast of a 4.5% reduction
Reference Link:- https://propakistani.pk/2025/07/19/300-pakistani-students-complete-agricultural-training-in-china/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
