‘Forest cover reduced to 2%’

It was 6% at time of independence, says expert.

FAISALABAD: The forest cover in Pakistan has reduced to two per cent against the international standard of 25 per cent, speakers at a workshop said here on Tuesday.

Addressing the workshop titled “Mass Communication Skills in Agriculture” organised by University of Agriculture (UAF) in collaboration with Cereal System Initiative South Asia (CSISA), speakers said Pakistan’s forest cover was six per cent in 1947.

Speaking on the occasion, UAF Faculty of Agriculture Dean Prof Dr Muhammad Ashfaq said a plant called moringa should be promoted, as it had seven times more vitamin C than orange, four times more vitamin A than carrot and four times more calcium than milk.

He said using moringa as fodder could increase the production of milk by 43 per cent.

CSISA Country Coordinator Muhammad Aqil Khan called for adopting modern technologies to fulfil the increased demand of agricultural products globally.

He said more agricultural products were needed because three babies were born every second. “On the other hand, agricultural land is decreasing at a rate of one hectare per minute,” he said.

He said scientists were responsible for increasing the per-acre output to meet new challenges.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2011.