Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh, Minister for Agriculture Punjab has said that agriculture is the only sector which has the potential to lay a firm foundation to rid the country of the financial and food crises.
Addressing a big gathering at Kisan Mela and International Dairy Conference, here at Iqbal Auditorium of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad on Monday afternoon, Ahmad Ali Aulakh said that we have to concentrate on agriculture as it is the only way forward to eradicate poverty and provide food and shelter to 170 million people of the country.
He said that there was a time when Punjab was considered as food basket not only for Pakistan but to other countries of the region, but now we are offering various attractions to farmers to grow more wheat only to overcome our domestic demands. He maintained that Punjab is growing more than 70percent of Sugarcane, Rice, Wheat and Cotton of the country. He said that the government has increased the wheat price so as to benefit the farmers enabling them to increase wheat production.
Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh said that agricultural scientists and extension staff of the government should go to the doorstep of the farmers in a bid to meet the challenges of food security. He said that government of the Punjab is providing 10,000 tractors and various drills to the farmers on subsidised rates. He expressed his hope that about 4million acres land will soon be able to be cultivated. Mr Aulakh termed the dairy conference and Kisan Mela a milestone in right direction and asked the university and other stakeholders to bridge the gap between farmers and agricultural experts.
Earlier, while briefing the participants about University, Professor Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that UAF is going to establish a technology park at the campus so as to showcase its products and technology in a bid to attract the farmers and other stakeholders.
He maintained that some technologies are in take off position and in incubatory position. He said that rural poverty could be addressed only by applying modern agriculture techniques and value addition of different agricultural commodities at rural level. He said that Pakistan could save a lot of foreign exchange by establishing a CA technology network in the country.
Dr Iqrar said that new green revolution would be based upon biotechnology, drip irrigation, CA technology and precision agriculture. He maintained that efficient water irrigation techniques must be practised as the new challenges are of water scarcity. Dr Iqrar told the participants that UAF experts have diagnosed the reasons of Sheesham and Mango debark and will soon come with some remedy.
He vowed that UAF would hold such Kisan Melas twice in a year to interact with farmer community in order to get feedback and listen to the farmers' problems for sustainable solutions. Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that UAF has transferred the citrus nursery from soil to green houses to produce virus free plants. He said that UAF has started to provide such virus free plants to the citrus growers and soon production would be increased manifolds.
HEC member academics Professor Riaz-ul-Hassan Tariq asked the agricultural experts to fill the gap between farmer and scientist. He said that government had recruited extension workers to reach the farmers gate with solutions of his problems but they did not enrich their knowledge with the pace of the time and failed.
He lauded the efforts of UAF for sending more than 800 graduates to the farmers for wheat sowing campaign of the government. Professor M. Younus, Dean Faculty of Animal Husbandry said that out of 38 milk plants only 12 are operational. He said that 4-5 percent of the milk is being processed and 25percent of the milk being sold in urban areas of the country.
He said that Pakistan is ranked at 4th position in the world and said that we have to work for per capita milk availability enhancement up to 250 liters. He said that UAF has offered 4 year B.Sc. (Hons.) Animal Sciences so as to provide a trained and mobilised workforce for livestock sector. Dr Ria Niaz Ahmad, Dr Iftikhar Ahmad Khan, Dr Abdul Salam, Dr Ihsanullah Chehal and others spoke on the occasion. Later Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh inaugurated the wheat sowing campaign in the campus and inspected the stalls in agriculture exhibition.
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