HYDERABAD, March 17: Second convocation of the Sindh Agriculture University was held at its Tando Jam campus on Monday.

Vice-Chancellor Professor (Dr) Basheer Ahmed Chandio awarded degrees to 358 holders of BS, BE, DVM, MSc, MC, MPhil and PhD degrees.

Forty one gold medals, 18 silver gilt-edged medals and 39 silver medals were awarded to the recipients for their performance and merit.

Speaking on the occasion, the vice-chancellor said that the SAU was holding a convocation after a lapse of 16 years, which was heartening for the entire university.

He said that Pakistan and Sindh had an agriculture-based economy.

He said that Thar desert and hilly ranges of Sindh invited experts and investors to harvest the unexplored potentials of the areas.

Mr Chandio said that nature invited them to explore new vistas of agriculture not only to provide food security to the nation but also to help agrarian community get rid of poverty.

He said that there were five faculties of the university, which offered postgraduate degree programmes in different fields of agriculture and the university also offered a variety of user-oriented short courses and training.

He said that due to increase in poverty in the rural population and limited chances of employment, the agrarian community could not afford educating their children at the places where living cost was 400 per cent higher than the education fees.