by Yuan Xiaona

 

Rahat Sharif (middle), a Pakistani, shares the diseases and insect pests’ prevention and control measures for potatoes with workers of an agricultural company in Zhenba County, Hanzhong, Shannxi Province, China on June 30, 2020. Sharif is a Pakistani student at China's Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University. [Photo provided to Gwadar Pro]  

 

HANZHONG, July 3 (Gwadar Pro) – “Our trip made us get more understanding of the Chinese government’s excellent strategies. I will try to imply those in my country Pakistan,” said Rahat Sharif, a Pakistani studying in China, after joining a poverty alleviation program here. 

 

Rahat Sharif and Abdul Ghaffar Shar, two Pakistani students, along with other international students of the China's Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (NWAFU) made a short research visit to Zhenba County, Shannxi Province, on June 28-30, 2020. They used their professional knowledge to help the local farmers improve agricultural production and get rid of poverty soon. 

 

On June 29, these students travelled to a livestock farm operated by the Chinese government to improve the livelihood of underprivileged people.

 

Sharif said, “Life is not easy there but the government has managed to provide them with all the daily necessities. Our visit also has done good for them because members of our team shared some useful safety tips with them to keep the farm animals healthy and in good conditions.”

 

The following day, they visited a local vegetable farm where Sharif gave briefings to the local potato farmers about the potato’s cultivation and harvesting. During the talk, the farmers asked him about the management of potato diseases and how to increase the overall production with minimum inputs. 

 

Abdul Ghaffar Shar, researching plant nutrition for his doctoral degree, makes a training on tea plant’s fertilization and nutrient uptake for workers of a local agricultural company. 

 

The other international student also shared knowledge on agricultural techniques with local farmers and answered their questions in the production. 

 

Helping farmers get rid of poverty by agricultural industrialization is an important way of China’s poverty relief.

 

Now, China is approaching its target of eliminating absolute poverty by the end of 2020. 

“This activity is an opportunity for the international students to learn more about China. It is also good for promoting the people-to-people connectivity,” according to Cheng Shangzhi, the office administrator of CIE in NWAFU.