FAISALABAD:Pakistan can save foreign exchange by promoting soybean cultivation at national level under intercropping system.
This was stated by University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan while presiding over a meeting on soybean cultivation here on Tuesday. Islamia University of Bahawalpur Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Athar Mehboob was the guest of honor on the occasion.
Dr. Iqrar said that it was a matter of concern that the country is spending as many as many US $ 5000 million on the import of edible oil and poultry feed. He said that soybean was one of the famous crops in the world but unfortunately we were far lagging behind in its cultivation. He said that if soybean cultivation was ensured with the help of intercropping system technology along with maize, sugarcane and other crops, it would not only help meet the demands of the country but also provide opportunities to earn billions of rupees by its export.
The VC UAF said said that it was essential for the intercropping system to develop mechanization. He hoped that joint soybean research projects by UAF and IUB would prove a milestone in the promotion of soybean cultivation. Dr. Athar Mehboob said that work on three UAF and IUB joint soybean projects was in full swing while three more projects are likely to be launched in the coming days.
He said that adoption of modern trends in the field of agriculture would not only help achieve the goal of food security but would also alleviate poverty. “We have to develop a strategy to address the issues of the country by using the developed countries models and tangible research works,” he said and added that it would open up new avenues of development.
He said that different projects worth Rs. 12 billion were underway in IUB which would move the university to new heights of the progress. He said that out of Rs. 12 billion, Rs. 4 billion had been arranged under public-private partnership.
Dr. Zaheer Ahmed said that 30 percent of vegetable oil was obtained from soybean worldwide while it was being used in more than 400 food industries. He said that soybean cultivation at the national level was negligible and its promotion under intercropping system was the need of the hour.
He said that both institutions were making all out efforts to promote soybean cultivation on modern scientific lines. He said that there was a need to create public awareness for enhancing the usage of soybean as part of food in addition to edible oil. “Soybeans contain 40 percent protein and 20 percent oil, “he added.
Dr. Muhammad Ali Raza said that the National Center for intercropping technology had been set up at IUB in collaboration with Sichuan Agriculture University, China that would bring the benefits of intercropping system to the farmers.
They also visited the different laboratories. The meeting was attended by Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Anas Sarwar Qureshi, deans, and directors while UAF Soybean Cell In-charge Dr. Zaheer Ahmed, and National Research Center for Intercropping Technology Islamia University Bahawalpur Director Dr. Muhammad Ali Raza gave a briefings over the UAF -IUB ongoing joints soybean projects .