Climate change poses challenge to agro sector: UAF VC

FAISALABAD: The country is losing grains, fruits and vegetables worth billions of rupees due to insects attack and different agro diseases in the fields.

Addressing the annual dinner of Department of Entomology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad on Tuesday, UAF Vice Chancellor Dr M Iqbal Zafar said that climate change was posing numerous challenges to the agriculture sector.

“New diseases are breaking out for which we have to expedite efforts to fight them. The UAF’s Department of Entomology is playing role in the uplift of the agriculture sector by overcoming the attacks of insects on the field,” he added. He also announced that the department would be elevated to the status of the institute. He urged the scientists to increase efforts to fight the woes of the common man and the agricultural sector.

The VC lauded the Entomology Department for conducting a survey, on the directives of Punjab government, in the cotton belt on pink bollworm and whitefly. The department has won two projects on pink bollworm and whitefly from Punjab Agriculture Research Board.

Dr Zafar said that modern practices must be promoted and practiced in the fields to fight the attack of different insect on the field. He praised the measures of Punjab government for the uplift of the sector and to promote the modern techniques and practices. He hoped that the projects will help yield improvement, increase in export and decrease in import and also improvement in input use efficiency.

Dr M Amjad said that the entomology department was partnered with the Punjab government to eradicate dengue. Dr Jalal Arif said that the department was making all out efforts to fight the agro diseases. He said that the HEC had awarded overall 26 projects worth Rs 67 million to the Entomology Department and they had completed 12 projects whereas work on 14 is on. He said that 28 PhDs of the department had completed part of their research in different countries with the HEC funding of worth 28 million.