Australian Agriculture Alumni Network launched

Australian Agriculture Alumni Network has been launched to work jointly and exchange research that will help uplift the sector in Pakistan. The launching ceremony was held at a local hotel with Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan as the chief guest and First Secretary in Development Cooperation Section of Australian High Commission, Islamabad Dave Preston represented the Australian High Commission.
The network is a group of Pakistanis scholars who received degrees from Australia in agriculture, water and livestock & dairy development. Addressing the launching ceremony, Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said Pakistan had many things to learn from Australians as they had transformed their agriculture and livestock sectors, and also ensured prudent use of water in irrigation and domestic level. He said only one Australian master scholarship in post-harvest technology had paved the way for changing the whole landscape of fruits export from Pakistan.
He said in such a consortium of seven countries, UAF had so far disbursed 40 masters and PhD scholarships. Referring towards devastating flood of 2010, he said "media coverage of UAF students' relief and rehabilitation work provoked the Vice Chancellor, University of Western Australia to announce two scholarships for UAF students to help us send our students to Australia for higher studies and later under HEC agreement with Australia, we dispatched more students."
While praising Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif's initiative of 300 PhD Scholarships for UAF, he said out of 650 million rupees allocation for sending first batch of 50 students, the UAF management after making successful negotiations with the overseas host institutions, had saved 110 million rupees that would enable us to send 15 more students in the same allocated amount.
He said Pakistan had been a partner country with ACIAR since 1984, with projects spanning across all regions of the country and covering issues like water, salinity cereal productivity, crop diversification and management practices. He said "outgoing CEO of Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research is very much satisfied with our work and growing networking with Australian Organisations. I invited new CEO Nick Austin to visit UAF, it would further make our relations and collaboration more meaningful," he added.
He hoped that a new five-year programme called the Agriculture Value Chain Collaborative Research (AVCCR) would also start in the next financial year. He said fortunately, the UAF graduates had the opportunity of getting admission in Australian Universities and by erecting a new professional Australian Agriculture Alumni we have a unique and proud example of co-sharing of alumni.
First Secretary in Development Cooperation Section of Australian High Commission, Islamabad Dave Preston representing Australian High Commissioner, said Australia and Pakistan had a long-standing friendship build on a common heritage, shared interests, and growing people to people links that was demonstrated clearly through the number of Pakistani students choosing to enroll in Australian Universities and particularly so with those enrolling in agriculturally related fields. He said launching an Australian Agriculture Alumni Network (AUS AAN) was highly appropriate at a time when Pakistan was looking to revolutionise its agricultural sector in order to feed, clothe and employ its people and generate export income.
Peter Hog said various Australian R&D organisations were working with their international partners and undertaking number of projects, adding that such networking helped to translate the learning into practical actions. He urged the members of new alumni network to make it a vibrant platform.
Dr Munawar Raza Kazmi, Country Manager, Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research at Australian High Commission, Islamabad said that since 2012 the number of Pakistani students enrolled in Australia's universities and educational institutions had been on rise as it was 11,000 in 2012 which was now 15,000 students in 2016. He said he was the proud product of UAF that spawned three universities in the recent past and remained in world top 100 universities in Agriculture, environment, veterinary and forestry for the last four years. While highlighting the purpose of instituting a new network, he said it would engage alumni with Australian government initiatives in agriculture, water, livestock and dairy development sectors in Pakistan. Dr Mubashir Mehdi, Dr Kathrin from CSU, Mehreen, Professor Dr Amanullah Malik and Malik Jahanzaib also spoke on the occasion.