Agriculture policy: ‘Farmer’s sons don’t want to be farmers’

Researchers asked to generate viable solutions to address problems of the agriculture sector

FAISALABAD: Agriculture Secretary Muhammad Mahmood said on Wednesday that researchers should come up with viable policy solutions to various problems facing the agriculture sector.

Addressing a joint meeting of the Steering Committee and the Council for Research and Policy at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), the secretary said the agriculture sector was facing problems of low productivity, water scarcity, shrinking cultivable area and poor marketing. He said that Pakistan had a fertile land and a favourable ecosystem, but it was not benefiting from them. He said the government was trying to solve the problems facing the farming community. He said the farming community must be educated about the use of modern farming methods.

The US-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Agriculture and Food Security (USPCAS-AFS) at the UAF had arranged the meeting. Former National Assembly speaker Syed Fakhar Imam co-chaired the meeting.

The secretary praised the steps being taken by the UAF for improvement of the agriculture sector and laid stress on the need for collaboration between the Agriculture Department and the USPCAS-AFS. He said that collaboration would make the Agriculture Department more efficient.

Imam called for joint efforts to solve agriculture sector’s problems relating to water scarcity and quality of soil and seed. He said that farmland, labour, technology and water were major components of successful agriculture. He said that California had faced drought for five years, but it had strategies in place to deal with the situation. He said that an irrigation policy was needed to address water scarcity. He said that wheat, rice and cotton were being cultivated on 70 per cent of the farmland in Pakistan. He said there was a need for diversifying the agriculture sector. He said that agriculture in Pakistan needed a paradigm shift.

UAF Vice Chancellor Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that farmers must be trained to improve agriculture. He said agriculture should be knowledge-based and the focus should be on improvement of farmers’ financial condition. He said there was a need to focus on water, energy and food security and strengthen the production, processing, storage and distribution systems. He said it was a matter of concern that a farmer’s son did not want to become a farmer because the financial incentive was lacking in the agriculture sector.

Khan said the UAF had introduced three new degree programmes; one in seed science, another in climate change and the third one in human nutrition. He said that five chairs had been set up under the USPCAS-AFS. These would help address policy issues. He said the UAF was doing research for development of the agriculture sector. He said that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had formed a committee to develop the agriculture policy.

Dr Dost Muhammad Baloch, vice chancellor of the Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences, underlined the need for training courses for farmers and livestock owners. He said that information centres should be set up at the district level and farmers should be imparted training there.

Horticulture Board of Pakistan Chairman Hassan Ali Chaniho called for a platform where people from various provinces, universities and farming community could meet, listen to each other’s problems and discuss solutions.

Progressive farmer Syed Faisal Hassan said the agriculture sector was facing seed-related issues. He said there was a huge difference in per acre yields in Pakistan and those in other countries. He said that farmers must be given respect. USPCAS-AFS chief of party Dr Bashir Ahmad, American scientist Dr Nancy, UAF Registrar Muhammad Hussain and Treasurer Umer Saeed were also present at the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2016.