FAISALABAD:Vice Chancellor University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said on Monday that increase in agriculture productivity is imperative to ensure food security and meet the demand of increasing population.
He was addressing the farming community during ongoing nine-day wheat enhancement drive. He said that UAF had launched this campaign in collaboration with Agriculture (Extension) Department convince and guide the farming community regarding use of latest trends for enhancing per acre yield.
He said that around half of the population was suffering from malnutrition. “If we promote the usage of wheat-maize mixed flour, it will help address the challenge”, he said and stressed the need of taking immediate measures for increasing wheat production.
Principal UAF Sub Campus Dr Zia-ur-Rehman said that as many as 30,000 UAF students under the supervision of their teachers were taking active part in wheat campaign to facilitate the farmers so that they could adopt latest techniques while sowing, watering and harvesting their crops as well as eradicating weeds and unnecessary plantlets from the fields.
UAF Entomologist Prof Dr Jalal Arif said that the university was providing free-of-cost quality seeds to farmers of flood-hit areas in addition to taking all possible measures for uplift of agriculture sector.
Deputy Director Agri Extension Muhammad Aslam said that the Extension Department was determined to deliver agricultural recommendations to 22,000 villages.
He said that research work should be reached at farmers’ fields so that the farming community could shun traditional way of farming and adopt latest techniques for increasing the yield manifolds. “If we complete wheat sowing in November, it will increase the productivity”, he added.