RAWALPINDI, Dec 19: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Friday announced a donation of Rs50 million for the University of Arid Agriculture and urged the university administration to specially address the issue of water shortage, soil testing, soil conservation, marketing and livestock development.

Speaking at the 4th convocation of University of Arid Agriculture here, Mr Jamali said agriculture was playing a vital role in the country’s economic growth and urged agricultural scientists to optimise the yield by focusing on unconventional areas like export of flowers, fruits and vegetables.

He said Pakistan was foreseeing an economic growth rate of 5.6 in the next fiscal year and said the role of agriculture in this regard had been very encouraging and impressive. He said the farmers could explore the untapped area of flower cultivation and cited the example of Holland in this regard.

He called for greater attention on soil testing and soil conservation. He said the farmers need to be informed of the best alternatives available for cultivation and called for a change in the cropping pattern to gain highest yield.

He said since he himself was an agriculturist from an arid zone, he understood the difficulties faced by the farmers there. He called for focusing on water management and preservation.

He said the rain-fed areas were also good for livestock. He said in certain areas in Balochistan it rained after eight long years recently. “We need to look towards this area and work to bring about improvement.”

He said the investors had reposed confidence in the policies of “his government”. “Many foreign entrepreneurs have expressed desire to make use of the vast agricultural treasures of Pakistan. They want to invest in projects for their better and more productive exploitation. I see in this development many opportunities for graduates of this university.”

Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Governor and the university’s vice-chancellor Khalid Maqbool said the government was according high priority to education and appreciated the role of Higher Education Commission (HEC) and private sector in this regard.

He said quality education was the driving force for the country’s development. He said the government had given charter of awarding degrees to seven institutions besides allowing seven new universities to function in the province.

Mr Maqbool said the university was a purpose-built institution to cater to the needs of the rain-fed areas of the country. He said the issue of water shortage had to be addressed on priority basis besides soil preservation and management on innovative lines.

He called for meeting the international standards in exports of agri products if Pakistan wanted to succeed after the WTO. He also called for expanding the knowledge base and improved marketing techniques to meet the future challenges.

Governor Punjab said the university was playing a vital role in research and development and added that with the cooperation of HEC closer cooperation would be made between different learning institutions.—APP