Pakistan, China target arid frontier with joint desert horticulture facility

June 18, 2026 (MLN): Pakistan and China have joined hands to establish the country's first-ever Joint Laboratory for Desert Agriculture and a Science and Technology Backyard on Desert Horticulture.

This was formalized through an MOU signed , aimed at converting Pakistan's vast desert tracts into productive farmland.

The initiative brings together China's Tarim University in Xinjiang and Pakistan's Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture (MNSUA) in Multan, with the partnership set to serve as a platform for technology transfer, scientific research, and farmer training in desert agriculture, APP reported.

Dr. Abid Ali, chief scientist on the Pakistani side, said the cooperation would centre on a suite of advanced technologies, including solar-powered greenhouse systems, precision agriculture, drone-based crop monitoring, and water-saving drip irrigation.

He noted that technologies developed by Tarim University could help Pakistan tackle some of its most acute agricultural challenges, particularly water scarcity and low productivity across desert regions.

On the flagship technology, Dr. Ali highlighted that the low-cost, high-efficiency desert solar greenhouse system directly addresses the longstanding problem of low land utilization in conventional solar greenhouses, boosting land-use efficiency by up to 35%.

Its modular assembly structure allows for rapid construction while maintaining strong daylighting and heat-retention performance, at a construction cost of approximately RMB 290–320, or Rs11,000–12,500, per square metre.

Complementing it, the water-curtain floor heating system  also known as plant root-zone warming technology  captures and stores solar heat during the day and releases it gradually at night, raising nighttime greenhouse temperatures by around 5% while cutting overall energy consumption.

Dr. Ali described Pakistan as an ideal first destination for the international rollout of these technologies, pointing to the country's Green Pakistan Initiative, which promotes modern farming techniques, drought-resistant crops, and sustainable land management across arid zones.

Uncultivated desert land accounts for nearly 15% of Pakistan's total territory.

Multan, a major agricultural hub surrounded by deserts and CPEC road networks, is expected to be among the primary beneficiaries of the new cultivation methods.

Dr. Ali said the project marked a milestone not only for Pakistan but for the broader region, adding that the initiative could serve as a replicable model for other arid areas across Central Asia and the Middle East.

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