Agricultural challenges: ‘Joint efforts the need of the hour’

Water project launched with assistance from World Bank.

FAISALABAD:

“The agriculture sector is facing many challenges including climate change, low productivity, water shortage,” Agriculture Secretary Mushtaq Ahmad said on Wednesday.

He was addressing the staff of University of Agriculture Faisalabad at New Senate Hall.

The secretary said that the need of the hour was to deal with the situation with combined efforts and enhanced cooperation among agriculture scientists, private-sector investments and the Agriculture Department.

He said a massive water sector project was being launched with assistance from the World Bank to redress water losses and promote modern technique like drip irrigation.

He said that the Punjab government had kicked off a project on improvement of value addition in supply change to improve farm products by making them at par with the international market. He asked the UAF agriculturists to contribute to the project.

UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan and deans and directors of several faculties and institutes were also present. Dr Khan stressed the need to increase investment in the higher education, saying it was witnessing a declining trend.

Talking about education, he said only six per cent of the population of the country currently had access to higher education. Comparing this ratio with other countries, he said, the fraction was 14 per cent in India and 40 per cent in Malaysia. He said that UAF was currently running 235 research projects costing Rs1,168 million.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2012.