FAO plans meteorological station at Umerkot

HYDERABAD:

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has decided to set up a meteorological station at the Umerkot sub-campus of Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tandojam.

The varsity’s spokesman informed on Monday that the station will be set up under the FAO’s Green Climate Fund (GCF)-funded project titled ‘transforming the Indus basin with climate resilient agriculture and water management’. The Sindh government will co-finance the project.

In this regard Dr Jorge Alvar, agro meteorological expert of FAO, Dr Ashfaque Ahmed, provincial coordinator of GCF and Dr Tariq, Director Planning from Pakistan Meteorological Department, paid a visit to the sub campus. They were briefed regarding the different departments of the sub-campus.

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Alvar said that UNFAO is planning to establish the ‘automatic weather station’ in that campus. “This will support collection of the real-time weather data. The varsity’s students will also get help for their research analysis. The students will also be provided internship and research assistance.

Dr. Ashfaque Ahmed told that the project will focus on increasing the resilience among the most vulnerable farming communities in the Indus Basin. Strengthening capacities of the public and private to support the communities to adapt to climate change is also part of the project, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2022.