Establishment of Pakistan’s first-ever National Research Centre of Intercropping officially approved

China Economic Net

Bahawalpur: Establishment of National Research Centre of Intercropping (NRCI) at the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) was officially approved on Friday. This will be the first-ever national research centre regarding intercropping technologies in Pakistan.

Soybean crops are growing vigorously in maize-soybean strip intercropping plots in Bahawalpur. [Photo/Muhammad Ali Raza]

“Before this, there was no national research centre dedicated to intercropping in Pakistan. The centre firstly will be affiliated with the key laboratory of China’s Ministry of Agriculture undertaken by Sichuan Agricultural University (SAU), which is well-known throughout the world for intercropping research especially in maize and soybean. Pakistan wants to increase its soybean production desperately,” Muhammad Ali Raza, post-doc from Sichuan Agricultural University told China Economic Net.

It’s learned that 25 acres of land has been allocated to the centre. “Chinese scientists are well experienced in intercropping technology. We will provide the land for research and technology transfer to the Chinese professors and scientists, especially those who are working on intercropping technologies. In the near future, we will invite Chinese professors and scientists to our university and will arrange workspace for them,” said Prof. Athar Mehboob, Vice Chancellor of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur.

“The Islamia University of Bahawalpur is looking forward to the intercropping technology transfer from China such as technologies of maize-soybean, cotton-soybean, cotton-peanut in particular,” Athar Mehboob added.

Moreover, on April 21, a meeting regarding the selection of the 25 scholars for PhD studies at Sichuan Agricultural University was held at the Vice Chancellor’s office. Athar Mehboob chaired the selection committee, and Prof. Muhammad Iqbal, Dean Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Dr. Abid Shahzad, Director International Linkages IUB, and Dr. Muhammad Ali Raza, Representative from Sichuan Agricultural University were among the members of the selection committee. 25 PhD scholarships from Sichuan Agricultural University were processed through the Directorate of International Linkages, IUB.