Islamabad: For Imran Baloch, a PhD student in botany at Northwest A&F University in Yangling, Shaanxi Province, the journey from Pakistan to China’s agricultural heartland is driven by a mission that resonates deeply with his homeland’s most pressing challenge: how to grow more food with less water.
According to China Economic Net, arriving in September 2024, he immediately found himself in an environment uniquely suited to help him find answers.The challenge is particularly acute in Pakistan, where approximately 75 to 92 percent of the national territory is classified as arid or semi-arid. These conditions extend from the drought-affected expanses of Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province, to the southern districts of Punjab—the country’s agricultural heartland—which increasingly face water scarcity.
Similar challenges also affect large areas of Sindh and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. For farmers across these regions, every drop of water counts, and every crop variety must be resilient.
