Agriculture conference held at BZU

LAHORE: Monsanto Pakistan has termed enabling environment vital for the proliferation of modern agriculture in the country.

Speaking at the three-day agriculture conference, held at Bahauddin Zakriya University (BZU) in Multan, Monsanto Pakistan’s Corporate Engagement Lead Azeem Niazi said: “The future of agriculture hinges upon our ability to adopt modern agriculture technologies; however, if real gains are to be made, our policy and regulatory framework must keep pace with the rapidly evolving agriculture sector.”

“The enactment of Plant Breeders Rights Act is one such positive step towards creating a business enabling environment for the industry; however, adequate implementation remains a concern due to the lack of institutional capacity,” he added.

Plant breeding is a fundamental part of the agriculture value chain and has an important role to play in terms of developing seed varieties that meet various considerations, including crop productivity, climate change, resource scarcity and pest attack.

The new law provides much needed protection to individual farmer and commercial breeding operations, allowing for greater investment in research and development of latest plant varieties.

Addressing the conference attendees, Dr Muhammad Asif, vice chancellor of BZU, and Muhammad Nawaz Sharif from University of Agriculture (MNSUA), highlighted various initiatives being undertaken to address cotton productivity challenges in the province.