HYDERABAD: Proposing that pretest effects of agrochemicals and their quality should be made mandatory, national and international agricultural experts have said pesticides are becoming increasingly dangerous for crops and living organisms.

They were speaking at the inaugural function of the first two-day international conference on ‘Plant Protection’ organised by Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tandojam on Tuesday.

Vice Chancellor (VC) Dr Fateh Marri said on the occasion that most the land in Sindh was desert.

“We have attached great importance to agriculture in the irrigated areas from the very beginning, but most of the desert lands remained unproductive due to neglect. By focusing rain-fed agriculture, organic farm production could be expanded,” he said.

Founding SAU VC Dr A.Q.Ansari said farmers were not fully educated and they believed that only solution to get rid of harmful pests and diseases in crops was to use pesticides. “Due to lack of testing laboratories, effects of pesticides have not been tested, which raises many questions around the world about country’s agricultural products and their quality,” he said.

Former chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation, Prof Dr Manzoor Hussain Soomro, said the importance of plant protection in agriculture was very important.

He said the developed countries used natural methods to eradicate harmful diseases and germs from agricultural crops as harmful effects of pesticides were being studied. But technical expertise was required among farmers and related institutions in that regard, he added.

Conference host Prof Dr Jan Mohammad Marri said the event would focus on agricultural research through expert suggestions and their research, especially in agriculture, would benefit farmers about temperature, climate change and environment.

Conference secretary Dr Muhammad Ibrahim Khaskheli briefed about the event.

Addressing through video recording, Sindh Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Tariq Rafi said the international conference would produce positive results and a message regarding agriculture in Sindh and Pakistan would reach the world.

University of Agriculture Faisalabad VC Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said the SAU had played a major role in agriculture research.

Present on the occasion were Dr Syed Asadullah Shah from Malaysia, Dr Marshall from Netherlands, Dr Hisham Naseeruddin from Sudan, Dr Bhai Khan Shar, Shaheed Allah Bakhsh Soomro University Jamshoro VC Noor Mohammad Baloch, DG Research Islamuddin Rajput, Syed Nadeem Shah, Zahida Detho, experts, farmers and a large number of students. The conference was attended by online participants from Egypt, Australia, China, India, Azerbaijan, Bangkok, Malaysia, and other countries.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2022