Former Livestock Minister and progressive farmer Mumtaz Khan Manais said that amid the situation of decreasing agricultural land, low per acre productivity and food insecurity concerns, it is prerequisite to promote mechanization and latest agricultural practices to ensure food for ever-increasing population.
He was talking to a delegation of University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) experts who visited his model farms in Tibba Sultanpur Vehari.
UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali led the delegation who visited citrus orchard, cotton, onion, livestock, wheat fields, fisheries, biogas plants and others.
Mumtaz Manais said that it is a matter of concern that farmers’ sons do not want to become farmers. He said that mechanization was a way forward to save the resources, boost up productivity and address the pest issue.
He urged the experts to come up with tangible policy recommendations that will herald the agricultural prosperity.
He said that students of the agricultural sciences must be equipped with the field training to be aware with farmers’ issues. The country was equipped with four seasons, but we were unable to tap the potential, he added.
Talking about the livestock, he said that livestock sector has potential to rescue the economy. The halal meat global market was 300 billion dollars while Pakistan’s share in it is only 300 million, he added.
UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali said that Manais farm is a model for the farming community that is based on mechanization and latest practices.
He said that agriculture was backbone of the economy, contributing 23 percent to GDP. The decreasing agricultural land and deteriorating soil health demand innovative intervention in this sector to meet the demands of increasing population, he said, adding that with the latest practice, we can not only increase the productivity but also make agriculture a profitable sector. He lauded the measures being taken on the part of the government to address the farmers issue and for agricultural uplift.
“UAF is committed to ensure food security, produce tangible research work, technology development, trained manpower and outreach”, he added.
He was accompanied by Dr Shahid Mehmood, Dr Babar Shahbaz, Dr Rao Zahid Abbas, Dr Asif Kamran, Dr Azeem Iqbal, Dr Ahmad Sattar, Dr Waseem Akram, Dr Nadeem Akbar, Dr Muhammad Tehseen Azhar, Dr Anwarul Haq, Dr Abdur Rehman, Dr Zain Ul Abdin, Dr Iftikhar Ahmad, Dr Muhammad Aslam, Dr Muhammad Sharif, Dr Nadeem Abbas, Dr Hammad Badar, Dr Muhammad Naveed, Dr Shafia Gul, Dr Bushra Sadia, Dr Humaira Razzaq, Dr Rashad Rasul, Dr Muzammil, Dr Fahad Rasheed, Dr Muhammad Azam, Dr Waseem, Dr Saddam Hussain, Dr Atiq, Dr Furqan Asghar and others.
The team witnessed latest agricultural practices and praised the steps being taken on Manais model farm.