Chinese agricultural technology transferred to Pakistan has helped raise incomes among Pakistani farmers and improve agricultural productivity, Pakistan’s Consul General in Chengdu, Tanvir A. Bhatti, said on Monday. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 12th Chengdu International Urban Modern Agriculture Expo and the Chengdu Modern Urban Agriculture Investment Promotion Conference, Bhatti said hybrid chili varieties and drying equipment developed in Sichuan had helped Pakistani farmers increase income from less than $300 per acre to $900 per acre. This threefold jump extends a pattern of chili contract farming cooperation that dates back to 2021, when China Machinery Engineering Corporation and Sichuan Litong Food Group set up a joint venture to introduce Chinese chili varieties across model farms, including sites in Multan, with the explicit goal of exporting the harvest back to China.
Bhatti said the technology transfer had also integrated Pakistan directly into China’s processing industry chain, describing the cooperation as an example of how agricultural technology transfer can contribute to poverty reduction. Chinese technical teams working on the chili project have previously described bringing not just seed varieties but cultivation techniques, including tunnel nurturing, modern transplantation methods, and scientific nutrient management, that local farmers had not adopted under older farming practices. Bhatti also highlighted the role of Chinese hybrid rice technology in increasing grain output among Pakistani farmers, extending the technology transfer beyond chili cultivation into one of the country’s other major staple crops.
The agricultural cooperation has coincided with stronger bilateral trade in several farm commodities. Pakistan’s rice exports to China increased by more than 200 percent year-on-year during the first seven months of 2026, while sesame exports rose 72 percent over the same period, according to China Economic Net as reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan. This trade growth suggests the technology transfer underpinning higher yields and better disease resistance in crops like chili and rice is translating into measurable export gains for Pakistan, rather than remaining confined to domestic productivity improvements alone.
Bhatti said the value of agricultural cooperation extended beyond higher trade volumes, pointing to its impact on farmers and consumers in both countries. He cited Pakistani mangoes reaching consumers in Chengdu and Chinese-developed agricultural applications being used by rice growers in Punjab as concrete examples of the direct, two-way impact of bilateral agricultural cooperation. The mention of digital agricultural applications specifically points to a technology dimension beyond seed varieties and processing equipment, suggesting Chinese agri-tech firms are also introducing software and app-based tools to Pakistani rice growers as part of the broader cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor framework.
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