BEIJING:The opening ceremony of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Agricultural Expo and the 32nd Yangling Agricultural High-tech Fair took place on Saturday in Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China.
During the event, the “2025 China Arid Zone Agricultural Technology Development Report” was officially released.
This year’s Yangling Agricultural High-tech Fair has attracted over 1,800 companies from nearly 50 countries, including SCO member states, African nations, and countries like the Netherlands and Sweden. Representing China’s 31 provinces, nine agricultural high-tech sectors, as well as global participation, the fair serves as a major platform for international agricultural exchange.
During the opening ceremony, Muhammad Akmal, Chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation, Ministry of Science and Technology, delivered a speech. He highlighted that agriculture is a key part of Pakistan’s economy, and in addressing global issues such as food security and water scarcity, it is essential to bring together global expertise, CEN reported.
He emphasized, “We must transform our agriculture system by adhering to new quality productive forces built on technological innovation, digitalization, green transformations, and sustainable development in Pakistan.”
In an interview after the ceremony, Mohammad Mushtaque Kumbhar, a PhD student from Northwest A&F University, highlighted how rapidly agricultural technologies in China are advancing, with new updates and innovations every year. Many of these technological breakthroughs have been fostered through the Agricultural High-tech Fair and later introduced to Pakistan. As a native of Sindh, he expressed pride in seeing his hometown benefit from the growing exchange and cooperation between the two countries, pointing out that some Pakistani farmers are now adopting cutting-edge technologies like drones.
This year’s fair will feature a combination of online and offline exhibitions, as well as domestic and international exchanges, to showcase outstanding achievements in agricultural innovation. Key areas of focus include core seed sources, essential agricultural machinery, water-saving farming, smart agriculture, and digital agriculture.
Additionally, during the event, 50 high-value agricultural patents, 100 major agricultural scientific achievements, and 1,000 excellent agricultural technological results will be released. The organizing committee also revealed the results of the national evaluation of the “Four New” agricultural technologies.