Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)

FAISALABAD April 20, 2025: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) team visited University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) and its Toba Tek Singh Sub-campus to discuss the progress and future planning for the effective implementation of the activities under ACIAR funded project entitled “Climate Resilient and Adaptive Water Allocation in Pakistan”. Prof Dr. Asif Kamran, in-country Socioeconomic Lead briefed about the progress on the socioeconomic and irrigation agronomy component led by UAF Team. ACIAR Country Manager Dr Munawar Raza Kazmi delivered an overview of more than 80 projects worth more than A$ 75 million investments during the last more than 40 years for supporting agricultural research with a focus on improving livelihoods of small farmers. He also talked about ACIAR’s partnership with the University on different projects including Citrus, Pulses and Water issues of small holders. CSIRO Principal Research Scientist Dr Mobin u Din Ahmad stated that the objective of the project is to contribute to improve canal water reliability under changing climate by working with local partners through knowledge sharing and capacity building. CSIRO Senior Experimental Scientist Susan Cuddy presented gender related work into modelling practice. CSIRO Senior Agrifood Systems Economist Dr Marta Monjardino encouraged the students and researchers to use the Value Ag tool to explore adoption of innovations and farm profitability under different scenarios. The project partners from Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) including Bareerah Fatima, Kashif Manzoor and Eng Khuram Kamboh, from SACAN CEO Eng Mushtaq Gill, Mr Javed Iqbal Goraya, Dr Umair Gull (UAF), Dr Naveed Farah (UAF) also explained their work plan. ACIAR and CSIRO team met Director Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) to discuss progress on different research projects. The team appreciated cooperation from the ORIC office for UAF team to smoothly run the project activities. Director ORIC Prof Dr Imran Arshad acknowledged the role of ACIAR as major international partner to support Agricultural Research by engaging UAF faculty and students. The current project is funded by ACIAR and CSIRO with in-country collaborators including IRSA, PCRWR, UAF, SACAN, On-Farm Water Management (OFWM) and Provincial Irrigation Departments. The project started its activities in November 2024 and will conclude by June 2029.