- Advertisement -
FAISALABAD, Oct 06 (APP):University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali has stressed the need for integrated and collaborative efforts among academia, research institutions, extension departments, farmers and the agriculture industry and said that it is imperative to ensure food security and sustainable agricultural development.
He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting of Regional Agriculture Forum Central Punjab, established by the Agriculture Department Punjab.
He urged the stakeholders to align their targets with emerging challenges to strengthen the agricultural base.
The meeting brought together senior officials, scientists, growers and representatives from the agricultural industry for joint initiatives of rural uplift and enhancement of crop productivity.
Additional Secretary (Taskforce) Agriculture Department Shabbir Ahmad Khan, Chief Agriculture Scientists Dr Qurban Ali, Dr Javed Ahmad and Dr Muhammad Ijaz, Directors Agriculture Extension Arif Siddique, Khalid Mehmood, Shahid Hussain, Dr Shakeel Ahmad and Dr Irfan Ullah, Progressive Grower Syed Faisal Hassan Shah, industry representatives Dr Khalid Aziz (Rafhan Maize), M. Idrees (Four Brothers) and Ahsan Bajwa (Farm Dynamics) were also present in the meeting in addition to UAF’s senior academic and research leadership including Dr Ghulam Murtaza, Dr Asif Kamran, Dr Khalid Bashir, Dr Rashid Rasool, Dr Muhammad Tehseen Azhar and Dr Hafizah Shafia Tehseen Gul.
The meeting underlined the importance of setting up demonstration fields to promote modern agricultural technology and create awareness among farmers.
The participants agreed to identify strengths and weaknesses in the agriculture sector and formulate policy recommendations based on scientific data and field feedback.
The meeting decided that the upcoming wheat campaign, jointly run by UAF and Agriculture Extension Department in November, would focus on farmer engagement and evidence-based policy-making.
The participants also highlighted the need to enhance academic–industry linkages, encourage innovation and promote commercialization of agricultural research for practical and sustainable outcomes.