Boosting agriculture: Experts call for collaborative efforts

The experts stress need for revamping policy to boost agriculture

FAISALABAD: Agricultural scientists, experts and extension workers on Saturday vowed to enhance collaborative efforts to increase productivity and address farming community’s issues to make agriculture a profitable sector.

The agricultural experts and scientist expressed these views while addressed an agricultural congress arranged at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) at the Iqbal Auditorium. Chairing the session, UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmed Khan stressed the need for making the agriculture competitive, profitable and sustainable through enablement, efficiency and value addition. He lauded the steps being taken by the Punjab and the federal governments for the uplift of the agricultural sector.

He said the Punjab agriculture policy was being revamped which would address the woes of the farming community and help increase productivity. “The new agriculture policy is focusing on land and water reservation, yield gap, diversification, postharvest losses, market issues, gender mainstreaming and value addition,” he remarked.

“By ensuring provision of quality seed, machinery, balanced fertilisers and weed eradication, we can increase the productivity and make the sector profitable,” the VC said.



“At the time of independence, the country’s population was only 35 million which has now surged to 200 million. He also suggested increasing the investment in the skill development. “We are focusing on only five crops whereas we have the climate to grow more than 300 crops. We need a diversification to make the agriculture a profitable business.”

He was of the view that precise and rational use of the available resources can increase productivity manifold. “Water level is going down and we will have to adopt measures to promote water-efficient technology,” Dr Iqrar suggested.

“The country is losing 40% of fruits and vegetables in the post-harvest losses. Climate changes are not a new phenomenon. We will have to take measures to fight the changing situation.”

Dr Iqrar said 50% of women and children were the victim of malnutrition. “We are using wheat as staple food which is full of gluten and causes obesity. There is a need to diversify our food habit.”

Extension DG Anjum Ali Bhuttar stressed upon the need for developing the heat tolerant varieties. He urged the scientists to come up with the viable solution to the problems facing the farming community.

He said the country was blessed with the tremendous resources and there was need to tap the potential. Research DG Dr Abid Mahmood urged the farming community to get updated about the modern trends and varieties that would increase the productivity.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2017.