KARACHI: The Sindh government has directed the Research Wing of the Agriculture Department to devise a mechanism for providing interest-free loans to the students of the agricultural university.

Sindh Agriculture Minister Muhammad Bux Mahar has said that the Research Wing of the Agriculture Department will devise a mechanism to provide interest-free loans to the students of Sindh Agricultural University Tandojam and will also talk to the Chief Minister of Sindh regarding the grant, so that the youth of Sindh can start their own agricultural business.

Mahar while presiding over a high-level meeting of the Agricultural Research Wing of the Department of Agriculture at the Sindh Secretariat further said that the research wing should introduce new varieties of wheat, rice and sugarcane crops and give them to the farmers of the province for free.

Climate change has become a major problem, the biggest impact of which is on agriculture, which needs to have more budget; we need to work on capacity building and provide better training to agriculture officers, he said.

Mahar directed DG Research Noor Muhammad Baloch to improve the production and quality of mangoes, dates and cotton so that the farmers of the province become prosperous.

Director General Research Noor Muhammad Baloch, while briefing the meeting, said that the research wing has introduced 13 varieties of wheat by 2023 and 14 varieties of cotton by 2020, the yield of which is 85 to 80 maunds per acre, while 11 varieties of rice, 11 varieties of sugarcane and 7 varieties of vegetables have been introduced.

He said the Research Wing has trained more than 300 women in the Institute of Food and Science Technology, so that women can earn their own jobs by doing small business at home. Agricultural University, Tando Jam is imparting annual training to around 400 BSc and MSc students on agricultural research.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024