March, 29 2005	Tuesday	18 Safar 1426

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FAISALABAD, March 28: Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool has stressed the need to streamline the agriculture marketing system and to bridge the gap between the growers and the scientists for bringing about a ‘green revolution’ in the country. Speaking at the 14th Convocation of the University of Agriculture, here on Monday, the governor said the government had provided Rs800 million for the uplifting and modernization of the Horticulture and Agricultural Marketing, which would bring a revolutionary change in the present setup.

He further said the government had increased the grants for all the varsities from Rs990 million to Rs14 billion. The agricultural research scientists and farmers would have to work jointly for strengthening the agrarian economy of the country, he added.

He said keeping in view the immense importance of agriculture in the country’s economy, the farmers should considerably increase their produce to meet the looming challenges of growing population, increasing urbanization and changing global market.

“There is a dire need to transform the traditional and orthodox agricultural production into market-driven production system,” he said, expressing the hope that the graduates of the university would help support food and allied industries in the country.

Mr Maqbool claimed that the fee structure of the universities in Pakistan was much low as compared to that of foreign varsities, adding that, however, the government was trying to further reduce the fees and improve the standard of syllabi to meet the present day requirements.

He said that growers should be imparted modern agriculture techniques to get positive results. He urged capacity building of professionals to improve agricultural output, economic and industrial growth and the product quality. Such measures would also help reduce the production cost and the pace of urbanization by opening job opportunities in rural areas.

The governor also awarded certificates and medals to 33 PhD scholars and expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the varsity.

Earlier, varsity Vice-Chancellor Dr Bashir Ahmed said that the AU intended to play a key role in food security, training of farmers, improvement in the rural socio-economic infrastructure to meet challenges of free-trade market system.

DINNER HOSTED: Himachal Pardesh (India) Governor Shri V S Kokje has said that delegations of professionals and intellectuals should be exchanged as confidence building measures to strengthen the relations between the two countries.

Talking to journalists here after attending a dinner hosted in his honour by Faisalabad Tehsil Nazim Mumtaz Ali Cheema at a local hotel on Sunday night, Mr Kokje said that intellectuals, lawyers, engineers, journalists and other professionals from India and Pakistan should cross borders forgetting the past and to start a new era.