Regional Agriculture Forum, Central Punjab.

FAISALABAD, Sept 29: The growing pressures of climate change, dwindling natural resources and rising food demand have underscored the need for closer coordination among agricultural researchers, universities, extension agencies, farmers and the private sector, experts said at a meeting of the Regional Agriculture Forum, Central Punjab, here on Monday. The participants stressed that the research and its application in the field needed to be bridged through stronger research-extension-farmer linkages and greater involvement of industry in developing practical solutions for farmers. The meeting, chaired by University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali, discussed a range of issues concerning agricultural research, technology transfer and climate resilience. The meeting discussed wheat, cotton, rice, sugarcane and other crops. Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali said the challenges confronting agriculture could not be addressed without greater collaboration among universities, research organisations, government departments, extension services, farmers and industry. He said scientific research needed to be translated into technologies and practices that could be readily adopted by farmers, particularly in the face of changing climatic conditions and increasing pressure on land and water resources. The participants also discussed the need to promote climate-smart agriculture to improve farm productivity while protecting natural resources and strengthening farmers’ livelihoods. They emphasised that closer interaction between scientists and farming communities could help ensure that research priorities were aligned with the problems being faced in the field. Dean Agriculture Dr Ghulam Murtaza, Dr Babar Shahbaz, Dr Ahmad Sattar, Dr Kashif Saleemi, Dr Bushra Sadia, Dr Rao Sabir, Dr Muhammad Aslam, Progressive Grower Syed Faisal Hassan Shah, Director Agriculture Extension Punjab Khalid Mehmood, Dr Khrrum Zia, Dr Rao Sabir and other stakeholders attended the meeting.