Scientists urged to formulate Agri Policy recommendations

LAHORE : Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi has urged the University of Agriculture scientists to reformulate agricultural policy recommendations on scientific basis keeping in view the ground realties and the challenges.

Speaking at meeting on agriculture policy at University of Agriculture Faisalabad on Saturday, Minister Agriculture observed such scientific agricultural recommendations will ensure increase in production as well as rural development and help in eradication of poverty.

He directed the UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan to constitute a committee to formulate agricultural recommendations so steps can be taken to tackle the uprising challenges of agriculture sector. Punjab Agriculture Minister said that despite Pakistan is one of the agricultural countries in the world but our production per acre is very low as compare to developed countries.

He said that our agriculture sector was facing different problems like seeds, traditional method of cultivation, soil fertility and irrigation are causing instability in production. If the Seed Act 2015 is implemented as per its spirit, it will help in controlling problems like defective seeds, he maintained. He further said that along with the increase in population, the rampant expansion of cities is consuming the agricultural area, for which we have to take measures like horizontal expansion instead of vertical expansion in cities.

Pakistan imports worth four billion dollars of edible oil every year, which is a bit of concern for an agricultural country. Agriculture has faced heavy losses due to climate change, for which agricultural scientists have to develop a feasible and integrated strategy so we can achieve maximum production with less water use, he stressed.

The meeting was attended by the Vice Chancellor of University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan while a large number of teachers and agricultural scientists attended the function.