Pakistan, China in rice research tie-up

KARACHI: The scientists of Pakistan and China will join forces to promote collaborative research for producing high yielding and high quality rice varieties, a statement said on Monday.

“Conducting research for the developing new high yielding, disease resistant, and high quality varieties of rice is extremely important for ensuring food security,” said Prof Dr Cheng Shihua, DG China National Rice Research Institute (CNRRI) of Hangzhou, China, in a sitting with Prof Atta-ur-Rahman, at Karachi University (KU).    The meeting, which was also attended by Prof Iqbal Choudhary, a rice expert, and Dr Fida Abbasi of Hazara University, was held at Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD) in KU.

Prof Shihua, who is leading the delegation of Chinese scientists, said it was imperative for the researchers of both the countries to compare notes. “We are resolved to promote further collaborative research between the scientists of two countries,” he said while talking to Prof Att-ur-Rahman, the former minister for science and technology.  Giving his input, one of the visiting scientists said that China was the largest producer of rice in the world, but Pakistan produced a number of high-quality varieties of rice in the world.