FAISALABAD::Provincial Minister for Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Hafiz Mumtaz Ahmed on Friday said that
tangible research work in agriculture sector was prerequisite to increase productivity and meet the demands
of ever-growing population.
He was talking to University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, at VC chamber. He said that development in any field was not possible without tangible research work. He urged the agricultural scientists to make efforts to improve the agriculture sector keeping the requirements of the country
in view.
He said the poultry sector had improved in Toba Tek Singh after the establishment of sub-campus of UAF there. The minister said that revolutionary measures were being taken to ensure food security and alleviate poverty
in the country. He said that more than 90 percent of farming community in Pakistan was small, barring them
to use modern methods and machinery due to limited resources.
Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said, “We imported essential items worth billions of rupees, which is a matter of concern
for an agricultural country”. He said that research budget in Pakistan was much less than developed nations
that must be enhanced. He said that many of grains were wasted under the open sky due to lack of proper
storage facilities for which silos should be set up on modern basis to provide the facility to farming community.
He said that several sub-campuses of UAF had emerged as full-fledged universities including Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, UVAS Lahore and Ghazi University.
He said the demonstration fields should be augmented, so that the tendency of small farmers to adopt modern technology could be enhanced.