China new varieties can help enhance rice production in Pakistan: Xu Jianlong.

BEIJING -- To solve the current problems of rice production in Pakistan, new varieties can be introduced from China for trial planting. Pakistan can also introduce China's advanced agricultural machinery and planting technology suitable for small farmers to help them increase rice production, said Xu Jianlong, chief scientist of rice molecular design technology in the Institute of Crop Sciences in the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

There is a popular saying that farming accounts for roughly 70 percent of human water consumption, and water used in rice fields account for 70 percent of the entire agricultural water consumption, he said in interview.

Drought-resistant varieties in China can save about 30 percent of water. Under drought conditions, drought-resistant varieties can also grow normally and avoid yield losses, he added.

Pakistan is also a country seriously affected by land salinization. About 30 percent of Pakistan's planting areas are affected by salinization. Just as drought-resistant varieties are required due to the water resources shortage, salt-resistant varieties are also needed to make full use of saline lands.

A Xu Jianlong noted that several salt-resistant varieties have been approved and promoted in China and got good...