PM endorses China’s innovative Juncao technology to alleviate poverty

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday termed food security and improved nutrition big challenges for developing countries and said China’s innovative Juncao technology could prove helpful in poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

“Such innovative, affordable and eco-friendly technologies may help catalyse our progress towards achieving the first two Sustainable Development Goals: no poverty and zero hunger,” the prime minister said in his video message screened at the Forum on the 20th Anniversary of Juncao Assistance and Sustainable Development Cooperation.

Juncao, which is famed as ‘magic grass’, has two Chinese characters meaning ‘mushroom’ and ‘grass’. The particular breed of grass was discovered by the Chinese scientists to be an economical and environment-friendly substitute for timber traditionally used as a substrate for growing mushrooms.

The prime minister said the world, at large, and the people of the Global South, in particular, were grappling with multiple challenges, including climate change, poverty and most of all food insecurity.

He congratulated China for hosting the event and Professor Lin Zhanxi for the invention of Juncao technology.

He also commended China for sharing the beneficial Juncao technology with over 100 countries, which had already benefited thousands of people across the continents over the last 20 years.

He said the technology also helped in combating desertification and could be used as a food for livestock, for being protein-rich.

The prime minister emphasised sustainable ways of achieving economic recovery, growth and development as critical during the pandemic.

He said with relentless efforts towards ending poverty in all its manifestations, extreme poverty had been steadily declining in the last two decades.

Khan termed China as a role model for developing countries in poverty alleviation.

“China’s remarkable growth has brought 800 million people out of poverty over the last four decades,” he said and lauded China’s leadership role in climate change and commended President Xi’s vision of a “prosperous, clean and beautiful world” and initiative to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

The premier said poverty alleviation and tackling climate change were his government’s key priorities.

“We launched a wide-ranging social safety programme called ‘Ehsaas’, with the objective of uplifting marginalised people, eradicating poverty, and supporting vulnerable households,” he said.

The Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme cushioned the most vulnerable part of the country’s population from the economic shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As one of the most climate-vulnerable countries, Pakistan fully supports international efforts to combat this scourge, he said, adding that the government was progressing towards a Clean and Green Pakistan under a well-articulated climate change and environmental agenda, consisting of a number of flagship green initiatives.

On the 10 Billion Tree project, Imran Khan said Pakistan’s green initiatives resonated with the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021/30.

“We hope it will contribute to preventing, halting, and reversing the degradation of ecosystems,” he added.

The prime minister said the country’s National Poverty Graduation Programme, which empowers the people by providing livelihood, creating assets and training, could play a vital role in collaboration with Juncao technology.

He expressed resolve and commitment to international cooperation aimed at poverty alleviation and sustainable growth and addressing climate change.