This was stated by University of Agriculture Faisalabad VC (UAF) Prof Dr Asif Tanveer while chairing a meeting of the Endowment Fund Secretariat.
:Focused research and adoption of modern technology in agriculture sector were imperative to increase per acre crops production, ensure food security and raise farming income.
This was stated by University of Agriculture Faisalabad VC (UAF) Prof Dr Asif Tanveer while chairing a meeting of the Endowment Fund Secretariat.
Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Chairman Dr Muhammad Azeem Khan, Pakistan Engineering Council Chairman Engineer Javed Saleem Qureshi, University of Narowal Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Tariq Mahmood, Executive Director ALP PARC Islamabad Dr Muhammad Munir Ahmad, Endowment Fund Secretariat Executive Director Prof Dr Mahmood A Randhawa, UAF Treasurer Umar Saeed and other notables were also present.
The meeting also approved seven agricultural research projects to combat the emergent challenges. Out of the approved projects, three will be carried out to combat the locust issues.
Prof Dr Asif Tanveer said that scientists should develop close liaison with farming community in order to disseminate the latest agricultural practices.
He said that the farming community was in the grip of different agricultural problems including low productivity, fabricated seeds, imbalance usage of fertilizer, changing climate, pest attacks, and others. These issues are not only deteriorating our agricultural productivity but also shrinking the farmers’ income.
He said that the UAF was also devising Pakistan Agri-Vision 2020- 2047 meant to ensure modern trends in the agricultural sector at par with international standards with the nexus of food, water, energy, and environment.
He said that the UAF, as a pioneer university, was starting postdoctoral fellowship programs for fresh PhDs. He said that our elders achieved the country after the great sacrifices under the leadership of Quaid-E-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Now, it is our responsibility to work hard for the uplift of the county.
Dr Muhammad Azeem Khan said all-out efforts were being carried out to address the issue of locusts and other agricultural challenges.
He said that the UAF had played a pivotal role in addressing the locust issue with tangible research and field works.
He lauded the measures being taken on the part of the UAF for the development of the agriculture sector. He urged the scientists to actively work addressing the farmers’ problems so that they can excel in the field. He informed the house that the Federal Ministry of National Food Security is mapping out a roadmap of agricultural development up to 2027.
Pakistan Engineering Council Chairman Engineer Javed Saleem Qureshi called for strengthening the academia-industry linkages. He said that demand-driven research should be carried for the industry, farming community, and the general public. He added that only knowledge economies were proving their mettle across the globe.
University of Narowal Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Tariq Mahmood said that he had observed the evaluation and analysis of the research projects at HEC.
He said that many quality research projects could not get funding due to minor mistakes. He stressed upon the proper training of the Principal Investigators to address the issue.
Endowment Fund Secretariat Executive Director Prof Dr Mahmood A Randhwa said that they had received 160 research proposals.
Three committees were constituted to analyze the research projects and these committees have shortlisted 37 projects for consideration. Out of which seven were finally recommended by the technical advisory committee for getting final go-ahead from BoD.
UAF Treasurer Umer Saeed said that all possible measures were being taken for the facilitation of researchers, students and staff. He added that the university was heading its way to find its space in the world’s top-ranked 500 universities.
Presenting the budget outlay for the current financial year, he told that Rs 95 million have been earmarked for the current financial year. He told that Rs 8 million will be spent on the operational expenditure of the EFS.
Originally published at Urdu point