Sarwar is utterly delighted because the 500 William-8818 plants have more than doubled his income to almost 500,000 rupees (4,807 U.S. dollars) annually, as the plant is tall, weather resistant and produces a better shelf-life banana bunch, with an average weight of 30 kg. It is 150 percent more than that of the previous variety's bunch, which weighed an average of 12 kg.
The project director told Xinhua that Pakistan's banana plantation is based on traditional methods, but he hoped that all the previous varieties will be replaced with Chinese verities in the next four to five years. He said that will not only give Pakistan self-reliance in banana production, with international quality standards, but also support it in poverty reduction.
According to a World Bank report in 2014, more than 50 percent of Pakistan's population of 192 million is living below the poverty line of 2 U.S. dollars a day.
The World Bank report said the country has made impressive progress in reducing absolute poverty, however, a large portion of the population remained vulnerable to falling back into poverty as 13 percent of the total population lived on an amount between 1.25 1.50 U.S. dollars per day.
According to Pakistan's national poverty line of 3,030 rupees (29 U.S. dollars) income per month, the ratio of the population living below the poverty line has fallen from 64.3 percent in 2001 to 29.5 percent in 2014, thanks to local and foreign-funded poverty alleviation initiatives.
Minister of Planning, Development & Reform Ahsan Iqbal told Xinhua that international economic observers projected a rise in Pakistan's economic growth to 4.5 percent in 2016 and then further to 4.8 percent next year, supported by strong growth in industry and services as well as the projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
China has been constructing a 2,442-km-long economic corridor in Pakistan with 46 billion U.S. dollars of investment that will link the western side of China to Pakistan's southwestern deep water port of Gwadar.
Under the CPEC, a number of projects, including industrial parks along the corridor, energy projects, railway and road infrastructure, and science and technology cooperation, will create hundreds of thousands of job opportunities for Pakistanis.
Minister Iqbal said out of the 46 billion U.S. dollars, 35 billion U.S. dollars are being invested in energy projects that will breathe new life into Pakistan's energy-starved industries and will also pave the way for Pakistan to make its Vision 2025 successful and halve the poverty ratio.
"Pakistanis are envisioning increased prosperity ahead, because Chinese investment can elevate Pakistan into the category of fast-emerging economies of the world. But, besides investments, Pakistan desperately needs Chinese support in the skill development of its workforce and transfer of modern technology to make the development sustainable," Director of the Independent Bureau for Human Issues, Professor Saeed Chaudhary said.
He said the immense benefits from Chinese investment in agriculture, textile, engineering, minerals, chemicals, tourism and other sectors of Pakistan are reaching grassroots levels and have greatly and quantifiably helped alleviate poverty in Pakistan.
