HYDERABAD: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has admitted that the province faces water shortage despite having the largest irrigation network.

Addressing the SAU’s 8th convocation on its campus in Tandojam on Saturday, he said the government was trying to overcome the paucity by adopting water conservation strategy.

Innovative methodology in the farm sector should be introduced to ensure conservation of water, he suggested.He said that despite 2010 super floods and 2011 devastating monsoon rains, the Sindh government increased the price for cotton, sugar cane and wheat exceptionally; even growers had not expected such an increase.

He called for establishment of agro-based industry in Sindh where 65 per cent population belongs to the agriculture sector.

He said that per acre yield of different crops, including cane, cotton and wheat, had increased in the past few years as compared to Punjab’s per acre productivity.

He said that once Punjab had refused to provide 200,000 tonnes of wheat to Sindh which later come up with surplus wheat produce. Ideas for introducing new varieties and inputs were needed.

The Sindh government planned lining of canals, including those of Rohri and Nara canal systems, which was otherwise domain of the federal government. But the federal government had not provided any assistance, he said.

Sindh should depend on its own graduates from the agriculture university to introduce new varieties of crops instead of depending on foreign experts, he said.

He said the Sindh government would train 50,000 youths in different government departments to help them acquire different skills. Previously, 185,000 youths were given similar training.

On the SAU vice chancellor’s request for funds, the CM said he would talk to finance department officers.

He announced Rs250 million as grant for the SAU, saying that Rs5 billion was earmarked for universities.

Addressing the convocation, pro-chancellor Nisar Ahmed Khuhro appreciated SAU’s endeavours in producing PhDs. He said the SAU was backbone of the economy and expressed the hope that fresh graduates would conduct research in different fields and ensure better management of the agriculture sector.

He claimed that it was due to the farm sector that Pakistan did not face recession. When other countries retrenched workers, Pakistan offered employment to its youth as it had surplus food, he said.

He, however, said the sector needed attention and the same was the case with livestock. He proposed that universities for the livestock and horticulture sectors should be established.

He said it was indeed a good omen that 20 per cent of the total 7,000 graduates were women.

SAU VC Prof Dr Mujeebuddin Sahrai said that during his tenure, 11 PhDs had been produced. He mentioned different training programmes launched under his administration which enabled the SAU to rank among the best universities. He said the SAU had successfully introduced camel serum based snakebite serum and with WHO certification, Pakistan would become the second country to produce it after Costa Rica.

But the SAU was having a deficit of Rs540 million per year, he said.

He sought a regular grant of Rs500 million in budget and Rs250 million for establishment of Farmers Advisory Service Centre.

He said the SAU was planning establishment of Shaheed Mohterma Benazir Bhutto Gender Agri-Enterprise
Development Centre for which Rs200 million seed money was needed.

For meeting the increased market demands of agri-products and fodder for animals, the SAU had decided to establish the Institute of Arid Agriculture in Umerkot which was part of Thar desert, he said, adding that Rs300 million was needed for it.

According to break-up of total 337 degrees, 297 candidates got their bachelors degree, 21 for MSc, three for M.Phil and 16 for PhD.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2015

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