Innovations in agriculture can bring change in all sectors: UAF vice chancellor

The government has put a drastic cut in the budget allocation of every sector but has retained to invest Rs 22 billion on Higher Education, from which the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF), is the recipient of its major chunk, with Rs 4.00 billion, out of more than 125 public sector universities of the country.
This was stated by UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan while addressing Assistant Professors and Lecturers in an interactive manner here at Iqbal Auditorium on Monday morning. The VC said that in the new budget, the government has allocated Rs 8 billion for promotion of agricultural education, and the UAF would be its major partner with Rs 4 billion spending.
"We must be proud to be an academia of top ranking university of the country, which is because of all-out efforts and contributions of its academic and administrative wings" he said. He said that in universities, BPS is no more after 2012; so there is a time to inculcate the young faculty to keep themselves ready and become a part of 'Tenure Track System', which has attractive avenues of success. He said that it is a hard fact that the role of a university is to generate new knowledge by involving its intellectuals through their unique and novel ideas holding the key of improvement and positive change of the deprived and unprivileged society.
Dr Iqrar said that in the country, every economic and political change occurs due to agriculture, and innovation in agriculture can bring change and put its effects on all sectors of life. He said that UAF has won the partnership of the University of Kassel, Germany, after competing with 44 outstanding university projects of the developing world.
He said: "Our faculty member should equip their students not only making them familiar with their course contents but also with entrepreneurial skills so that they can start their own business by selling their new and marketable ideas rather than looking for jobs. Our idea of entrepreneurship is widely accepted and is being introduced in most of the public and private sector universities of the country. The UAF seems to get major chunk of USAID funding as well as PARB grants".
The VC expressed concerns over the meagre 110 R&D projects won by more than 600 scientists of the University and said: "We must look out of the box and every one should fetch the projects by selling their brain and ideas which have relevance to the society as Rs 100 million at HEC remained unspent during the last financial year because there was no workable project submitted out of 125 universities of the country.
He said that UAF is going to hold a one-month faculty development workshop, exclusively for young lecturers, from the next month to equip the young faculty members with new tools and techniques in teaching and research fronts.
UAF Registrar Muhammad Hussain termed the leadership approach of Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan as participatory rather than hierarchical, inclusive rather than exclusive, and seeking rapport and camaraderie rather than keeping his distance. The program was organised by Public Relations and Publications Department. Later, the VC answered questions raised by young faculty members.