The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved the establishment of Pak-Korea Hi-Tech Agriculture Innovation Center/Technology Park at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad worth Rs. 3bn.

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved the establishment of Pak-Korea Hi-Tech Agriculture Innovation Center/Technology Park at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad worth Rs. 3bn. It was stated by University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan while addressing the inaugural session of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology in the Modern Era arranged by Department of Agronomy, UAF. He said that the Technology Park was meant for adding value to agro products through product development and trainings and to bring innovation and skills in agriculture sector to improve and capture value chain in the existing supply chain system. He said that it would also play a vital role to overcome stagnation in agricultural productivity by developing a technology park for the commercialization of university research as a market force. The project will also focus on following three aspects of agri entrepreneurship including promotion and commercialization of new technologies and innovations; capture value within the value chain and its commercialization and enhance and manage efficiencies of Agri-farms and agri-businesses. The goal is to build an entrepreneurial ecology through product development, business startups, business incubation, technology transfer and commercialization. Talking about the microbiology, he said that the UAF was having microbiology working group to conduct the tangible researches. He said that out of 50 foreign scholarships of Punjab government, the microbiology was having a big share with 7 scholarships. He said that the major crops of the country had been facing stagnation that is a matter of concern. He said that Punjab agriculture policy was being revamped that will help address the issue. Dean Faculty of Agriculture Prof Dr Amjad Aulakh said that the University was making all out efforts to produce quality manpower and ensure quality. He said that agriculture was backbone of our economy. Dr Riaz Ahmad, Dr Wan Tack Im from Korea, Dr Zubair Siddique and Dr Mansoor also spoke.