Keeping up with time: Online marketing for agricultural products urged

Farmers unable to fetch good prices for produce

FAISALABAD: Pakistan’s agricultural sector is facing a major crisis as far as the marketing of agricultural products is concerned. Farmers locally and internationally are suffering and are unable to fetch good prices for their produce.

University of Agriculture, Faisalabad Vice-Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad said this while speaking at the inauguration of a three-day workshop on students' entrepreneurship and professional development.

He said marketing strategies in agriculture needed to change or else the farmers would turn to traders that would be disastrous for the whole nation.

The workshop held at the New Senate Hall on Friday was arranged by the UAF Computer Science Department.

Dr Iqrar emphasised the need to strengthen agricultural marketing system in order to make agriculture a profitable sector. He said as online shopping had become very popular, in order for us to compete with the rest of the world it was necessary to utilise this technology.

He said under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Faisalabad was lucky being surrounded on both sides north and south, creating contemporary business opportunities.

The UAF vice-chancellor lamented that students were looking for a job after the completion of their degree. “We have to polish the entrepreneurial skills and innovative ideas to become self-employed, and to be able to innovate our marketing and sell our products in the international market at reasonable prices,” he added.

UAF Sciences Dean Dr Muhammad Javed called for enhancing the skills of students with innovative ideas so that they could face the challenges of life effectively.

“No nation can develop without skills and hard work,” he said. “Universities are playing a vital role in the development of entrepreneurism among the students.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2016.