Scientists urged to promote farm value addition

Pakistan has to step into the global food trade in a big way by fully exploiting its agriculture sector and switching over from the exports of raw to value added products. This was stated by Professor Dr Bashir Ahmad, vice-chancellor, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), on Saturday.
Addressing as the chief guest at the National Workshop on Curriculum Development for B.Sc. (Honours) Food Science and Technology and MSc. (Honours) Dairy Technology at the Institute of Food Science and Technology UAF here, he said that food science and technology has emerged as a potential sector in global scenario.
"The process of globalisation has become a force with impact on all regions, nations, societies, cultures and sectors of the economy," he said, adding, "the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has reinforced this process."
He said: "Different WTO agreements are challenging our production, export and quality and safety management in food production, handling, and management and trade operations."
He said that due to defects and inadequate facilities in post-harvest handling, transportation, and storage and marketing up to 20-40 percent losses occurred in fruits and vegetables. "To win economic war, the food industry in Pakistan has to step into the global food trade with increase share in produce as value added products."
"This situation demands development of indigenous technologies to promote value addition of agricultural produce by the food scientists and technologists," he added.
MILK PRODUCTION: Dr Bashir Ahmad pointed out that Pakistan was the fifth largest milk producing country in the world with 27 billion liters annual milk production but unfortunately only 2-3 percent of the milk produced in our country was processed.
He said this was a serious situation and demanded not only a substantial increase in the milk processing but also appropriate technologies to develop value added milk products. Earlier Professor Dr Jahangir Sial in his welcome address stressed the need of demand-oriented degree programmes in public sector universities. He said that UAF since its inception had played a key role in facilitating the agriculture sector and food industry in Pakistan by generating excellent human resource in various disciplines of agriculture.
Director, Institute of Food Science and Technology Professor Dr Faqir Muhammad Anjum briefed the chief guest about the proposed curriculum development to initiate a four-year B.Sc. (Honours) programme in Food Science and Technology and MSc. (Honours) Dairy Technology.
Professor Dr Javed Aziz Awan conducted the workshop and lauded the efforts of the curriculum development committee constituted by the Governor Punjab, Lieutenant General Khalid Maqbool (Retd).