Investment in agricultural research should increase to avert any agricultural crisis and tangible research work being carried out in the country must be translated into goods and services, remarked Punjab Agriculture Secretary Dr Asad Rehman Gillani.
Speaking at a meeting at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) on Saturday, Gillani said climate change, post-harvest losses and lack of mechanisation in agriculture were acting as hurdles in the way of benefiting from its true potential. He assured meeting participants that the government was taking all possible measures to enhance productivity and strengthen the agriculture sector, which was the backbone of economy. He lauded efforts of the UAF for combating agricultural challenges and presenting out-of-the-box solutions.
“In the midst of different challenges including Covid-19 and locust attacks, the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) has squeezed from $330 billion to $280 billion,” he regretted. Meeting participants were informed that the government had fixed wheat production target at 27.03 million tons for 2020, however, the overall harvest turned out to be 25.5 million tons due to climate change and unexpected rains.
He lamented that the country had been facing a massive decline in cotton production for the past few years. At present, the cotton production is estimated at around 6 million bales against 13 million bales just a few years ago.
The secretary urged agricultural experts to develop viable solutions to the problems afflicting the agriculture sector for enhancing productivity, value addition and mechanisation. He stressed that affordable technologies must be developed to address grievances of the farming community.
Speaking on the occasion, UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said around half of Pakistan’s population was in the grip of malnutrition. “We have to promote a blend of wheat and other cereals including maize to help improve nutrition at the national level,” he suggested.
He told the agricultural secretary that UAF had developed Vision 2030 to meet demands and challenges of that era.
Ahmad added that UAF was collaborating with the University of Florida to bring a breakthrough in strawberry crop by turning it resilient to the chilling environment.
He expressed concern that the university’s competitive grant for the ongoing portfolio had been reduced manifold.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2020.
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