Kenyan High Commissioner to Pakistan Mrs. Mishi Masika Mwatsahu flanked by UAF Vice Chancellor prof. Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan inaugurates Agri Exhibition at Six-day Spring Festival

Kenyan High Commissioner to Pakistan Mrs. Mishi Masika Mwatsahu on Monday said that University of Agriculture Faisalabad Spring Festival provides a forum to farming community and other stakeholders to interact with agricultural scientists and get the knowledge of state-of-the-art agri practices that will bring tangible results on the horizon of the sector. The Kenyan High Commissioner flanked by Commercial Attaché Samuel K. Chemisto inaugurated the UAF six-day Spring Festival. UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan along with all high ranked official of the varsity was also present on the occasion. Earlier, she also addressed Deans Committee at Syndicate Room. The UAF festival has brought color of rural culture and knowledge based events including farmers convention, agricultural exhibition, flower show, fancy bird show, horse and cattle show, tent pegging, milk competition, cow and buffaloes beauty contest and cultural shows as well as international seminars and conferences. It is aimed at promoting modern agricultural practices and outreach activities in a bid to increase per acre production of various crops, fruits and vegetable to cope with the food insecurity situation confronting our homeland. Addressing the audience, the Kenyan High Commissioner stressed the need to further strengthening Kenya-Pakistan ties in the area of trade, academia and research to get benefits from each other experiences and fighting common challenges. She also called for ensuring that valuable researches and findings should reach the consumers who are to use it to get the desired food crops and enhance better livestock that will increase the income of farmers in general and boost up Gross Demotic Product (GDP) of the country in particular. Talking about the women education, she lauded the UAF for giving admissions to bulk of rural women as its (UAF) 40 percent of total enrolments consists of females. She said that the women who are working with agricultural workers in large are being equipped with the appropriate skills to ensure that agriculture contributed adequately to providing food to the country. She said that UAF in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya were working together to fostering agri sector and sharing of knowledge that would help give affordable food for ever-growing population of the world. She said her country encourages and provides visas for UAF academic staff for their academic proceeding to Kenya.Briefing the delegation about UAF, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said the UAF was enjoying good reputation across the globe and have inked 53 Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) internationally as well as working with Kenya on various projects to enhance livestock productivity. He said that UAF was the best university of the country in the agriculture across the country according to Higher Education Commission while also standing among top universities in other categories. He said that citation of the university had risen to 3,248 in 2011 while it was 2045 in 2010 that was one of factors to determine ranking of the university. He said that the university had introduced 15 new degree programmes in a span of four years in order to produce manpower in various areas. He told that the UAF was having 130 women teaching staff. To facilitate them, the university is providing state of the staff facilities including Day Care Centre etc. Besides it, the varsity has set up Women Complex, Women Health Centre to give the women state-of-the-art living and medical facilities. He said UAF had won the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) award for science and technology for its outstanding contribution to the given field. On which the High Commissioner congratulated the vice chancellor. She also witnessed the Agri Exhibition, Tent Pegging, Horse Show and Rosa Lab. She also visited Women complex and Day Care Centre.