Farmers should never come under the influence of advertisements of pesticides and chemical fertilisers because these are destroying fertile lands.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pakistan is playing a vital role in creating awareness among Pakistani farmers about modern environment-friendly techniques-such as increase water use efficiency by farmers, reduction of pesticides use in cotton fields and reduced use of chemical fertilisers by sugarcane and cotton farmers, being used in the agriculture industry world-wide.
WWF has established schools in sugarcane and cotton growing areas in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur. These schools train farmers, who will be called master trainers and they train other farmers who know better as to how implement better management practices in their areas.
Speakers expressed these views during a Graduation Ceremony of Farmer Field Schools held under the European Commission Thirsty Crop Project at the Ayub Research Institute Faisalabad.
Speakers said that the WWF is working with the district government, the Departments of Agriculture, Irrigation, Environment, representatives of Sugar and Cotton Industry and Farmer Organisations. The project of farmer field schools should turn into the institutions for the training of farmers.
Faisalabad District Nazim Rana Zahid Tauseef lauded the initiatives taken by the WWF to develop agriculture and assured their full support to the WWF. He said agriculture was the back bone of the country's economy and "sugar cane and cotton are our cash crops and the sugarcane is the crop which consumes a lot of water and with the better management practices introduced by WWF farmers who will know how to save and manage water and reduce the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
And this will also increase the per acre yield." He announced that the district government would provide 50 percent of money for the modern machinery to the farmers.
Fresh Water and Toxic Programmes Director Hammad Naqi Khan said in 2006 the communities and World Wild Fund for Nature, Britain entered into a contract under which the European Commission will provide financial assistance to the WWF-Pakistan to implement the "better management practices for water thirsty crops" to ensure sustainable sources of fresh water to support the poor's livelihood.
The project will create a mechanism to increase water availability and reduce pollution by decreasing the amount of water and pesticide used in the sugarcane and cotton industries. The farmer's field schools established by the WWF are training farmers to develop and implement better management practices. Anayat-ullah-Khan and Mushtaq Gill also spoke.
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