FAISALABAD - Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday the government’s top most priority was development of the agriculture sector, which was the backbone of the country’s economy.
He was addressing the deans and director at the Centre of Advanced Studies auditorium here. UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan was also present. He said that the University of Agriculture Faisalabad being the mother of all agricultural institutions should take a lead to reform the agriculture sector with tangible research work, community service and transforming the researches into goods and services.
He said that the research and its findings should reach the farming community, stakeholders and industry for establishing knowledge-based economy. He said that the government was planning to conduct a research contest among the universities meant for heading towards a knowledge-based economy. He said that the government was also working on setting up the National League of Universities and Premier League of Universities. Under the Premier League, the best universities of the country would be selected to find space in the top 100 universities of the globe and as a driving force for the knowledge economy.
He said that although the country was among the top producers of the different agricultural goods, “we have very low per acre production as compared to the rest of the world”. He added that climate change had started playing havoc with the sector and the country would have to develop climate resilient varieties. He said that commodities were not matching the world regulatory framework and those were not fit for export. The minister said that due to excessive usage of pesticide, the agricultural fruit and vegetables were becoming toxic. He asked the UAF to develop the proposal for the establishment of a Maximum Residue Limit lab. He added that the agriculture sector was confronting different challenges including water scarcity, technology, low per acre production, water scarcity, climate changes, etc. The minister said that biotech, data scientist and innovation, adaptation of modern trends were the need of the hour.
He said that Pakistan was the fifth largest producer of milk in the world. The dairy industry could not be exploited for export items without value addition. He said that floriculture has a huge potential.
Earlier, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that the university was bringing breakthrough in the wheat and soybean in the country for enhancing the production and food security. He said that the UAF in collaboration with Washington State University was working on wheat climate resilient varieties. He added that the UAF seed project would prove a hallmark for addressing the seed issue. He said that the university had developed agricultural zoning of the Punjab. The VC added that like maize, technological advancement in wheat was essential. He said that precision agriculture and drone technology in the agriculture sector were essential in the modern era. He visited the soybean and wheat experiment and inaugurated Jinnah Hall. Later, a memento was present to the minister.