HYDERABAD, Nov 23: Dr Kausar Abdullah Malik, a member of the Planning Commission, has said that the water-logged land can be made usable and bio-energy could be obtained from it.

He said that 198 million acres of land were available in the country out of which 14 million acres were affected by water logging and salinity.

Speaking at a joint session of agriculture and animal sciences conference in Tandojam on Wednesday, he said that 11 million acres of the affected area could be brought under the plough to produce crops.

He said that through bio-mass technology, fuel, fibre, pulp paper and methyl alcohol could be obtained from the water-logged and salinity affected land.

He said that the land could also be considerably improved.

Dr Malik said that by cultivating castor oil plant, bio-diesel could be obtained through proper management of land and that the sugar mills could obtain alcohol for export.

Sindh Agriculture University vice-chancellor Dr Bashir Shaikh said that by using bio-energy methods, salinity affected land could be improved.

He said that the university was preparing its recommendations in this regard.

Quaid-i-Awam University vice-chancellor Dr Anwar Junejo said that with the increase in population, food problem could attain alarming proportions. He said that by the 2050 year, population was likely to increase by 48 per cent.

He said that even today, 800 million people in the world remained hungry.

He said there was need for increasing per acre yield of crops.

He said that today 1.2 billion people of the world earned less than one dollar per day, whereas 74 per cent population of the world earned less than two dollars per day.

He stressed the need for close coordination between research, extension and teaching departments to find out ways and means to tackle the food problem. He pointed out that the agriculture sector consumed 70 per cent of water resources and the scientists should work to get better results by using optimum water supply and its conservation.

Karachi University vice-chancellor Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui said that the conference convened by the Agriculture University Tandojam would go a long way in evolving new methods for improving agriculture and animal husbandry sectors.

He stressed the need for giving due importance to the agriculture sector as major industry located in urban areas was also dependent on agriculture.

District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil hosted a lunch in honour of the delegates of the conference at the local circuit house here Tuesday night.

He said that in addition to research within the country, agricultural scientists should also keep abreast of research going-on at the international level to bring about a green revolution in the country.