ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has decided to establish a modern college of agriculture at the Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) in Multan at a cost of Rs185 million.

It has been decided that the University College of Agriculture, a constituent institution of the university, should be strengthened and upgraded on modern lines. In this connection, the government has agreed to provide the amount.

In a statement, Chairman HEC Prof Attaur Rehman said there was no particular institution to imparting education in the field of agriculture in Multan, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan districts, which are the most fertile areas of the country.

He said there was the dire need for establishing a most modern agriculture college in Multan to cope with the research needs of important crops such as cotton, wheat, mangoes and dates, etc.

The college will not only provide highly trained manpower in the form of PhDs and MScs in various disciplines of agriculture but will also meet the requirements of advanced research on important crops keeping in view the problems and needs of farming community of the region.

It will also cater to the needs of rapidly growing population of the country by improving per-acre yield of crops and will improve the farmers' quality of life by providing solutions to their problems through research in the relevant disciplines. In addition, it will also be helpful in increasing foreign exchange earnings through export of surplus cotton and products, mangoes, dates, etc.