STORY: Chinese red chili contract farming opens vistas for development in Pakistan's agriculture sector
DATELINE: July 11, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:24
LOCATION: Islamabad
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Pakistani farmers and laborers
2. STANDUP (English): MISBAH SABA MALIK, Xinhua reporter
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Urdu): MARYAM BIBI, Local farmer
4. various of Chinese red chilies
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): XI JIANLONG, Chinese manager from CMEC at Pakistan-China red chili contract farming
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): RAO SHAHAB, Local landowner

STORYLINE:

STANDUP (English): MISBAH SABA MALIK, Xinhua reporter
"Here is a Chinese chili, and right now I'm in Pakistan's east Punjab province where the harvest of chili has been started, and the farmers are eyeing to complete it before the start of monsoon season."

This year, Pakistani farmers and laborers are happy to get a bumper harvest of Chinese red chilies and expect to get good profits as the yield is double that of other varieties of pepper available in Pakistan.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Urdu): MARYAM BIBI, Local farmer
"We shake them and they get dry. When we shake them, we get to know their condition. They give this sound when they get dry. So they get dry with shaking."

The project is part of a large-scale agricultural cooperation between Pakistan and China in the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is currently underway after the success of the first phase focusing on infrastructure and power projects.

Advancing cooperation in the agricultural sector, China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and Sichuan Litong Food Group have established a company and carried out a red chili contract farming project in 2021, with model farms across Punjab.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): XI JIANLONG, Chinese manager from CMEC at Pakistan-China red chili contract farming
"The Chinese variety is compatible with local soil and the overall hot climate. Its output is also similar to that in China. Therefore, we have promoted it on a large scale in the second year. In that year, we created more than 2,000 jobs in Pakistan and generated an output value of approximately 4 to 5 million yuan (about 553,000 to 691,000 U.S. dollars). It is a contract farming project, so the cooperation directly benefits local farmers."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): RAO SHAHAB, Local landowner
"China is very, very progressed in technology. So I'm hoping to get that technology from the Chinese and grow it better. Better seeds, better yield, and whole agriculture is better. And another thing is, China is a great market for Pakistani agriculture products, as we know Pakistan does not have a systematic approach to the market. So it is better to export and see a future in that way."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Islamabad.
(XHTV)