HYDERABAD, June 5: The vice-chancellor of the Sindh Agriculture University, Bashir Ahmed Shaikh, on Thursday announced the appointment of a task force to conduct a survey of the coastal areas of Sindh.

He said that the task force would recommend ways and means to increase the crop production, keeping in view the non-release of water downstream Kotri.

He was speaking at a seminar "agriculture and WTO agreement..." organized by the university in Tandojam.

Mr Shaikh said that efforts should be made to make the barren lands cultivable with a view to meeting the challenges of the WTO agreement and making the country self-sufficient in food production.

He stressed the need for preparing an investigative report on pesticides and insecticides to ensure that only effective pesticides were allowed for sale in the country.

He also announced the establishment of an investigation cell at the university to study in detail the pros and cons of the WTO regime.

He made it clear that concerted efforts must be made to increase the crop production as well as live stock production to meet the challenges of WTO.

He said that it was necessary that we should prepare effective and viable agricultural policies before 2005.

He said that the Sindh Agriculture University would launch a programme for creating awareness among the people about the WTO. He said quite a few committees of the university were already working on mango diseases, livestock and crop production.

Former vice-chancellor Dr Rajab Memon exhorted the agriculture research institutions of Pakistan to rise to the occasion and evolve effective strategy to increase crop production and improve the quality of agriculture produce.

He said that the prices of agricultural inputs were increasing with the passage of each day as a result of which the overall cost of agriculture produce has increased.

He said that effective steps must be taken to decrease the cost of agriculture production to meet the challenges of WTO.