ISLAMABAD: The United States announced on Tuesday a $4.5 million Fertiliser Right project that will be implemented over the next four years to help Pakistani farmers enhance fertiliser use efficiency.

“Simply put, farmers need fertilisers to grow crops,” said US Ambas­sador Donald Blome while launching the project at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) in Islamabad on Tuesday.

“The Fertiliser Right project is part of the US-Pakistan Green Alliance framework, which helps our countries jointly face the climate, environmental, and economic challenges of the future. A top priority of the Green Alliance is to cooperate on overcoming the challenges that agriculture faces because of climate change and collaborate to reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change,” the US ambassador said.

Mr Blome said that the project was designed to help farmers produce more with less fertiliser applied, and therefore should help boost farmers’ incomes, while also protecting soil resources.

“The adoption of innovative and efficient fertiliser practices can alleviate pressure on fertiliser supplies, lower nitrous oxide emissions, and improve crop output. The US government looks forward to partnering with PARC and NARC to make this fertiliser project a success,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali praised the US support for the agricultural sector for decades and also highlighted various collaborative initiatives between USDA and PARC.

“Pakistani scientists are being trained under United States capacity building programmes and these scientists are continuously contributing to the agricultural development in the country,” the PARC chairman said.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2023