KARACHI: Technology obtained through solar energy could be utilised to increase crop production and better results and the scientists of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) were playing significant role in making the country self-sufficient in food production.
“The use of solar technology and advanced methods to dry dates could increase the production of dates in the country and Sindh has a special importance in this regard,” said National Food Security and Research (NFS&R) Minister Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan while addressing a seminar on Solar Dates’ Dryers at Khairpur, according to an official statement issued on Friday.
The event was organised by PARC under the project ‘Post Harvest Management and Value Addition of Fruits in Production Catchments in SAARC Countries (Pakistan Component)’. The NFS&R minister said that the promotion and development of horticulture sector in Sindh would result in economic growth of the province. This sector has great potential to raise employment opportunities in rural areas as well as progress towards national food security and economic development, he said, highlighting that the horticulture sector was contributing 11.8 percent share in the country’s economy. Bosan said that in horticulture sector, dates were the third important fruit of Pakistan with production of 0.6 million tonnes per annum. In Pakistan, he said, over 50 percent of dates were cultivated in Sindh. However, the growers were facing many problems due to lack of facilities to dry and preserve dates.
The quality of production does not meet the standard of international market due to which farmers were not getting their benefits of the production, the miniter lamented, adding that the PARC scientists have introduced a new technology through which dates can be dried by using solar energy. “Through this technology, growers can obtain clean and export quality dates.” He said that the federal and provincial governments would make efforts to transfer this technology in date production areas of the country and to aware the farmers about the benefits of this new technology.
On the occasion, PARC Chairman Dr Nadeem Amjad said that this event has been organised for dates’ growers to aware them about new technologies introduced by PARC. He said that the PARC has introduced many new innovations and technologies for the development of agriculture sector. The organisation has transferred these technologies to the farmers, which include zero tillage drill, wheat straw chopper, rice thresher, seed processor, groundnut digger/thresher, canola thresher, fertilizer band placement wheat drill, seed drill and other machines like solar energy system to dry fruit and vegetables, wheat and rice sowing machine, olive oil extraction machine and many other farm machinery.
He said that in Pakistan, the annual production of fruits was six million tonnes but 30 to 40 percent fruits were wasted due to lack of proper facilities for its management, which resulted in loss of about Rs 100 billion. He said that if fruits and vegetables were produced according to healthy and safety standards, then we can earn huge foreign exchange through exports.
To improve agriculture and to increase per acre production, he said, new knowledge and technology, improved quality seed, modern machinery, new practices of cultivation of crops were necessary. The PARC chairman appreciated the efforts of PARC senior eminent scientist Dr Munir Ahmad for introduction of solar power dates dryer technology that can convert dung into dates.
“Through this technology, quality date can be produced according to healthy and safety standards in very short time. As a result of this project, 10 solar systems have been transferred and installed in district Khairpur and Sukkur of Sindh, he said, adding that that date growers and farmers, through their hard work and using this technology, could increase their profits as well as play their role in country production and economic development.
On this occasion, PARC Chief Scientist Dr Munir Ahmad, Khairpur AZRI Technology Station Incharge Dr Abbas Bhutto, Khairpur Abdul Latif University PPRI Director Shah Dr Sarwar Markhand, FEMS Patron-in-Chief Haji Chutal Bhand and other speakers also shared their knowledge and experience with the participants.