Training workshop on E-governance for the officials of Department of Agriculture Punjab was kicked off at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad.

The training workshop was arranged by Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization, UAF in collaboration with Ayub Agriculture Research Institute. Chairing the session, University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Dr Muhamamd Ashraf said despite the fact of being agrarian country, per acre agricultural productivity was very low compared to developed world, owing to traditional way of farming. He said it is need of the hour to promote the latest trend among farmers to enhance productivity and compete with the rest of the world. He said that collaborative and intensive efforts were required to meet the sustainable development goals that comprise 17 points of agenda such as poverty and hunger alleviation, ensure healthy lives, and quality education etc. He urged the government to invest at least 0.2 percent of GDP on Agriculture R&D thereby to harness the benefits. Taking about E-Governance, he said that with the advancement in the management tools, it will not only improve the efficiency but also help increase the agricultural production. Dr Abid Mehmood DG Ayub Research said that with the agricultural research, the production of all major crops had boosted up manifold and they are making the research work at with international standards. He told that Punjab government has made it mandatory for promotion of the officers of Research Wing to undergo this professional training in lines with the pattern of NIPA. Director Research UAF Dr Zahir Ahmad Zahir said that knowledge-based economy was imperative to address the daunting issues of poverty, agriculture low productivity, unemployment and other challenges. He told that setting up a directorate of training at the varsity is on the cards. Director Procurement Umer Saeed urged the participant to utilize the potential from our agricultural resources. Mr. Umar Saeed Qadri, Dr Abdul Rasheed, Israr Hussain Moavia and Abdul Waheed addressed the participants as resource persons.