JARANWALA:
Punjab Agriculture Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo on Thursday announced the formation of an Agriculture Education and Research Taskforce, aimed at presenting actionable recommendations to revamp the province’s agriculture sector and achieve a targeted 4% growth in the coming years.
Addressing a high-level meeting attended by top agricultural experts and researchers, Secretary Sahoo emphasised the urgent need for integrated efforts between academia, research bodies, and the agriculture industry.
“We must lower institutional walls and enhance collaboration across the board to ensure national food security and sustainable agricultural growth,” he said.
The meeting was held with the participation of University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Dr Zulfiqar Ali, Chairman National Seed Authority Dr Asif Ali, Director General Ayyub Research Institute Sajid ur Rahman, Chief Executive PARB Dr. Abid Mehmood, and Consultant to the Punjab Agriculture Department Dr. Muhammad Anjum Ali, among others.
Secretary Sahoo outlined the government’s commitment to developing short-, mid-, and long-term policy frameworks to modernise agriculture.
He noted that increasing crop productivity remains a key challenge, particularly in the face of water scarcity and climate change.
“Providing farmers with high-quality germplasm, certified seeds, and climate-resilient crop varieties will be crucial to boosting production,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of a unified, practical approach involving all stakeholders to secure long-term agricultural sustainability.
“This collaborative session is a clear testament to the government’s resolve to renew and stabilize the agricultural sector,” he added.
As part of the reform agenda, he cited upcoming partnerships between arid agricultural universities and research bodies to enhance per-acre wheat yields, especially in irrigated areas.
Speaking at the session, UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Zulfiqar Ali voiced serious concern over the declining levels of organic matter in soil, describing it as a major threat to land fertility and sustainable farming.
He urged academic and research institutions to work collectively to address the crisis. Prof Zulfiqar Ali said UAF would engage scientists from other institutions as adjunct faculty on collaborative research projects. He emphasised that profiling and selecting heat- and drought-resilient crop varieties should be prioritized in the short-term planning.
“In the long term, establishing a national germplasm resource nursery involving contributions from all agriculture-based institutions is essential,” he added.
