A three-day training workshop on ‘Smart Potato Cultivation and Strategies for Value Chain Development’ started at Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) on Monday, with an aim to address the challenges and strategies to enhance its cultivation by precision agriculture.
Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI) Director General Dr Muhammad Zaffar Iqbal was the chief guest, while Dr Qamauz Zaman was the guest of honor.
Dr Iqbal said that due to the increase in potato usage in domestic and industrial sectors, its cultivation has become very popular in Pakistan in recent years. He said that according to the incumbent government’s vision to improve nutrition for all, it could be one alternative.
The challenges still exist in term of its production and value addition but the government is working hard to address them as they have produced high-quality, virus-free and third-generation potato seed with the help of South Korea by using aeroponic technology, he said.
The initiative will enable Pakistan a self-sufficient in seed potatoes by mid-2022, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2021.
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