Upgrade required : Stress laid on use of modern equipment

Official wants farmers to keep pace with technology

FAISALABAD: Highlighting reasons behind the deteriorating condition of the agriculture sector, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said lack of machinery and skilled manpower are hurting the country.

He was addressing a seminar on tractor parts arranged by the WazirPak Group ATS and UAF.

“Farmers do not have sophisticated machinery - even for major crops,” said Khan. “There is a need to introduce efficient and low cost farm machinery not only to increase productivity but to facilitate the farming community.

“Horse power of tractors are underutilised due to lack of trained manpower. Available planters and harvesters in the country are not up to speed on current technology.”

Khan was of the view that reverse engineering of imported farm machinery will help in manufacturing low cost and durable machinery at the local level. “In the modern era, it has become the need of the hour to adopt state-of-the-art tools to increase productivity amid increasing population,” said Khan. “Farmers must be trained on how to use the machinery in order to ensure its efficiency.”

He said that we have 1.2 million tube-wells only in Punjab and only 0.2 million of them are being operated on electricity. The rest of them are being run through tube-wells that is the wastage of energy.

WazirPak Group ATS Chairman Amjad Wazir said that India’s per acre productivity was more than Pakistan’s due to usage of sophisticated machinery.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th,  2016.

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