LAHORE
Punjab Planning and Development Chairman Jahanzeb Khan has said that agriculture is the backbone of economy of Punjab province and agriculture policies not only transformed lives of the farmers but also improved the nutrition of women.
He was addressing a seminar organised by the Punjab Economic Research Institute (PERI) on “Agriculture Price Policy: Equity, Efficiency and Food Security” held at Planning and Development Complex, here Monday.
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan was the chief guest. Dr Asif Saeed Khan from National Tertiary Education Consortium (NTEC) Auckland, New Zealand also spoke on the occasion.
Chairman P&D said that today we are facing problems of food insecurity, lack of efficiency and inequity in the market for agricultural products which can be solved only by sustainable agriculture policies. He thanked for the collaboration of Dr Mumtaz Anwar, Director, PERI, Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, VC, UAF and Dr Asif Saeed Khan.During the seminar, Dr Asif Saeed Khan highlighted that there was a need for collaboration among all the stakeholders pertaining to agriculture sector so that the input output gap could be removed and better agriculture policies could also be formulated. Moreover, he said that there was a need for a holistic policy approach and the capacity building was of utmost importance. Removing information asymmetries was the core solution suggested by him to develop agriculture price policy which would ensure equity, efficiency and food security in the province of Punjab.
Dr Iqrar Khan elaborated that over the past 60 years, the agriculture price policy remained interventionist; all the stakeholders should strive to come on the same platform to remove market imperfections and bring the system out of the capacity trap. Dr Mumtaz Anwar, Director, PERI mentioned that the seminar was a part of PERI Research and Training Seminar Series. He highlighted that our institute had been crucial in providing a platform for policy making and developing policy papers pertaining to agriculture and the overall economy of Punjab.
training: Punjab Fisheries Director General Dr Muhammad Ayub has said training will be provided to three aquaculture officers abroad under the “promotion of good aquaculture practices in Punjab” project whereas international experts will impart training to 30 aquaculture officers and 50 fish farmers in Punjab and Balochistan.
He was addressing a workshop held with regard to provision of technical cooperation to Fisheries Department of Food & Agriculture Organization Pakistan at a local hotel on Monday. Representative of FAO United Nations Patrick T Evans, Aquaculture Officer FAO, Miao Weimin from Regional Office for Asia, Bangkok, Aquaculture Officer Muhammad Raza-ul-Hassan of Aquaculture and Fisheries Department FAO Rome, DG Fisheries Balochistan Muhammad Noor, Director Fisheries Gilgit Baltistan Ghulam Mohy-ud-Din besides fish farmers, feed processors and other stakeholders were present.
Dr Muhammad Ayub addressing the workshop said good aquaculture practices will be applied at 50 fish farmers of Punjab and Balochistan provinces. He said this project of Food & Agriculture Organization will prove a milestone in fisheries sector and this industry will progress significantly.
He said fish farmers and end users will benefit from this project. He said this is the first project in the history of the country for providing technical cooperation. He said this project will be applied with the cooperation of Fisheries Departments of Punjab and Baluchistan, Pakistan Agriculture Research Council and Fisheries Development Board and will be applied at the selected sites of Punjab and Balochistan.
Representative of FAO United Nations Patrick T Evans addressing the workshop said development of aquaculture is the future of fisheries and Asia is making rapid progress in aquaculture sector. He assured all possible cooperation for the development of fish industry. He said the project will prove a historic and help in getting production according to international standard and taking fish farmers towards certification. In addition, Additional Secretary Technical Rasheed Awan, Aquaculture Officer FAO Miao Weimin, Aquaculture Officer Muhammad Raza-ul-Hassan and others spoke.
Veterinary workers complete training: The second batch of 30 village veterinary workers (VVWs) completed three-month training at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS).
The training programme was held at the UVAS Institute of Continuing Education and Extension (ICE&E), Ravi Campus under Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF)-funded project. ICE&E Director Prof Dr Muhammad Abdullah chaired the concluding ceremony and distributed certificates among the participants coming from various districts of the Punjab. The participants were trained in various skills like extension, vaccination, de-worming and farm management etc. Speaking on the occasion, Prof Abdullah advised the trainees to keep on updating their knowledge and serve the farming community with honesty and dedication in their areas. Assistant Prof Dr Tayyab Munir and Assistant Prof Muhammad Iqbal were also present.
