UAF NEWS

The lack of availability of quality seed, pesticide, poor value addition, climate changes, inadequate farm machinery, academia-industry linkages and non-adoption of modern trends are major hindrances for the agricultural development, said University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ashraf.

He addressed the Academic Council whereas Registrar Muhammad Hussain presented the agenda.Dr Muhammad Ashraf said that universities are housing an updated pool of knowledge that must contribute to resolve key issues of local industry, farming community and people. We have to identify areas of researches and strengthen academia-industry ties to move towards knowledge-based economy. He showed his concern that per acre agriculture productivity was very low as compared to that in the developed world. He said that agro markets were flooded with flawed seed. How can we can harvest economical viable crops without quality seed, he lamented. He directed the UAF scientists to develop the quality seed resilient to climate changes. He said that climate change is also posing a serious threat to agriculture sector. Farmers are fighting the effects of unpredictable weather patterns, variable rainfall and drought like situations. He said that more than 90 percent of farming community consists of small farmers who cannot afford cost-intensive machinery. Value addition from which we can earn heavy foreign exchange, is negligible in our agriculture trade, he said, adding that the country is producing millions tonnes of fruit and vegetable produce but non-adoption of international standards had limited our agro exports. He said that UAF scientists should increase their research work and come up with tangible results to fight the challenges. Talking about education, he said that university is kicking off new market driven programs. He directed the teaching community to ensure the quality education and sharpen the skills of the students so that they can compete with the rest of the world.