FAISALABAD October 15: A delegation of Asian Development Bank led by Program Officer Noriko Sato visited the University of Agriculture Faisalabad and called on UAF Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan, deans and directors.
The meeting discussed agricultural issues, mechanization, water and food security. Noriko Sato said that Pakistan is a founding member of ADB. ADB has been helping the country reduce poverty and increase resilience and prosperity by supporting investments in key sectors and services. ADB operations remain aligned to Pakistan’s evolving economic and development priorities.
She said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is launching a new project to promote modern trends and mechanization in agriculture in various member countries including Pakistan. She lauded UAF for its agricultural initiatives.
Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan suggested the support of ADB to establish a seed testing plant in UAF to realize the dream of increasing production per acre while ensuring supply of quality seeds.
He said that mechanization was pivotal and initially in mechanization, we have to focus on wheat and rice crops. He said that high yield varieties of wheat are developed in UAF with the cooperation of Washington State University. The university has also developed new varieties of cotton, sugarcane, chia, brassica, and other crops. He said that the Center for Advanced Studies, Pak Korea Nutrition Center, Chinese Confucius Center and International Seed Testing Lab have been established in the university with international cooperation. He said that the barrier between different agricultural institutions should be demolished to pave the way for joint efforts. The delegation also visited Hi-Tech Lab, Farm Machinery Lab and other laboratories and field. In the meeting, Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Muhammad Sarwar Khan, Dr. Jalal Arif, Dr. Qamar Bilal, Dr. Farzana Rizvi, Dr. Jafar Jaskani, Dr. Khalid Mushtaq, Dr. Ijaz Bhatti, Dr. Muhammad Azam, Dr. Muhammad Saqib, Dr. Nadeem Akbar, Dr. Irfan Afzal and others also attended.