The country is importing oil worth billions of rupees that can be saved by promoting its cultivation to become self sufficient in oil production, said University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Iqbal Zafar. He was addressing a seminar arranged by Human Resource Development Cell, University of Agriculture Faisalabad at New Senate Hall.

The country is importing oil worth billions of rupees that can be saved by promoting its cultivation to become self sufficient in oil production, said University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Iqbal Zafar. He was addressing a seminar arranged by Human Resource Development Cell, University of Agriculture Faisalabad at New Senate Hall. He showed his concern that we are stuck to five crops whereas we can potential to grow 300 crops. He said that besides being agricultural country, Pakistan is importing oil worth billions of rupees. He stressed upon the need to bring diversification and to promote the latest trends in the agriculture not only to meet the domestic demands but also to earn heavy foreign exchange. He said that farming community had been facing numerous woes for which step-up efforts are needed to address their problems including low productivity compared to rest of the world. He said that agricultural scientists should come up with researches that are providing solutions to problems of farming community. Prof. Qadambot Siddique from University of Western Australia said that Australia and China were proving their mettle in the every field of life. There is a need to learn from their experiences. He stressed upon the need to further strengthen the ties of Pakistan educational institution with Australia to learn from each other experiences. Dean Faculty of Agriculture Dean Dr Muhammad Amjad said enhanced level of understanding of the farming community with modern tools was vital to compete with the world. He said that water security was one of the major issues as Pakistan was held in the list of red zone in water availability index. He said that we have to learn from the experiences of the advanced nations to excel in the agricultural sector. Paul Buist from University of Western Australia said the University of Western Australia (UWA) was established in 1911 as the State's first university. He said the University is home to a number of industry-based research centres and institutes, and is affiliated to many others in Western Australia and across the country. Dr Riaz Ahmad said that the collaborated efforts with national and international institutions will help in the way of development and prosperity.