Islamabad, (Parliament Times) : Two-day’s conference was held at the National Agricultural Research
Centre, Islamabad under the plan to increase the national production of wheat and integrated use of
fertilizers. Mr. Zafar Hassan, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Food Protection and Research was the
chief guest of the event. Agricultural scientists from all over the country, officers of the Department
of Agriculture Extension and farmers participated in the conference. In the beginning, Dr. Muhammad
Yaqoob, National Project Director (Wheat) explained the aims & objectives of the Conference.
Addressing the inaugural secession of the two-day national conference on "Efficient
integrated nutrients management technologies for enhancing wheat productivity in Pakistan", Federal
Secretary Ministry of National Food Security and Research Mr. Zafar Hassan said that wheat was
the main crop of the country, which was being grown over 22 million acres to fulfill local dietary
needs. He said that average output of wheat in the country was recorded at 30 mounds per-acre, which
was lowest as compared the output of developed economies of the world.
He added that lower productivity of wheat was another challenge as it was insufficient to tackle with
increasing demand of growing population, adding that under such circumstances, the responsibilities
of local agriculture sector has further increased to maintain food safety and security. He further asked
for enhancing the use of bio-fertilizer in order to reduce dependency on costly imported fertilizers,
besides encouraging the production of organic agriculture products for profit maximization as well as
protect the local eco-system and environmental degradation.
Federal Secretary expressed the hope that the outcomes of the conference would be helpful for
formulation of a comprehensive policy to enhance per-acre output of wheat, by sharing the knowledge
and experiences of local as well as foreign experts.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman PARC Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali said that the council was
making efforts to extend the outcomes of its research and development to the door steps of farmers,
adding that efforts were on to ensure provision of high yielding seeds verities to growers. He also said
that considering their experiences, the agricultural scientists should tell the farmers how to use
fertilizers which not only reduces their expenditure on fertilizers but also increases their production as
well as their productivity. Increase the fertility of the land and make it environment friendly for us.
Dy. Director General of National Agricultural Research Center Dr. Shahzad Asad thanked the Federal
Secretary of the Ministry of Food Protection and Research and all the participants of the ceremony
and expressed hope that the Federal Secretary will always continue to patronize us and in the same
way agricultural scientists will play their role for the agricultural development of the country.
