High costs of inputs like seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, forcing farmers to curtail the consumption, have also played their part in the lower per acre yield of crops. DESIGN: MOHSIN ALAM
This was said by Punjab Minister for Law Rana Sanaullah while speaking at the second Pakistan Seed Congress titled, ‘Seed Security for Sustainable Agriculture’ on Monday. The seminar was arranged by the Centre for Advanced Studies in Agriculture and Food Security, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
“The country is facing tremendous challenges of food security amid the alarming situation of climatic changes, diminishing agricultural land and ever-increasing population,”
he said.
“The government is committed to uplifting the agricultural sector which is the backbone of our economy and contributes 21% to the gross domestic product.”
The law minister urged the researchers and scientists to develop climate resilient new crop varieties.
On the occasion, UAF Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said the productivity of major crops had been hit hard due to supply of low quality seed. He said, “Certified seed fulfills the demands of 27% of the farmers whereas the rest of the demand is fulfilled from the farmers’ own field.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan Seed Promotion Alliance President Dr Shakeel Ahmad, Prof Dr Asif Ali, Dr Hafeez A Sadaqat and seed expert Dr Kent Bradford also spoke.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 22nd, 2016.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ