University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor, Dr Zafar Iqbal Randhawa said that the agriculture sector is faced with tremendous challenges.
He said that low productivity and profitability, climate changes, depleting water resources and marketing issue are some of the challenges for which inter provincial coordinated efforts are needed to ensure food security and making agriculture a profitable sector.
He was talking to a delegation of Sindh agricultural experts at his chamber. The team of the Sindh experts comprised of Dr Muhammad Ismail from Sindh Agricultural University Tandojam, Sindh Forestry Working Coordinating Organisation CEO Suleman Abro and Dr Zulfiqar Ali Poto. UAF Director Office of Research Innovation and Commercialisation Dr Zahir Ahmad Zahir, Chairman Plant Breeding and Genetic Dr Hafeez Sadaqat, Dr Khurrum Zia and other notables also attended the meeting.
The Vice Chancellor said that the sustainable agriculture would pave the way to address the issues and to alleviate poverty. The agriculture share to Gross Domestic Product was 20 percent, he said, adding that majority of people was associated to agriculture sector directly or indirectly.
He said that university is strengthening our connections with agriculture experts and scientists from all corner of the country for the betterment in the sector. He said that the time has come when we have to shun traditional way of farming to compete with the rest of the world. He viewed that per acre agriculture production in the country was very low. Therefore, it is prerequisite to adopt modern practices that will not only increase yield but also jack up the income of farming community. He said trained manpower, quality education and researches providing solutions to problems of society and farming community; and knowledge based economy are prerequisite to alleviate the poverty from the country. Dr Muhammad Ismail lauded the measures being taken on the part of the university particularly research advancement. He added that the collaborated efforts would help address the problems of the farming community.