‘New varieties of crops being developed to reduce production cost: Punjab Agriculture Secretary Wasif Khurshid

Faisalabad: New varieties of wheat, cotton and other crops were being developed to reduce cost of production and increase per acre yield in the country, said Secretary Agriculture Punjab Wasif Khurshid. Addressing a delegation of University of California on the occasion of Mela Jashan-e-Baharan organized by the University of Agriculture Faisalabad here on Thursday, he said the Punjab government with the help of USAID had launched the project to overcome food security issue. He said that scientists of agriculture department as well as university of agriculture were striving hard to develop new crop varieties which would be compatible with climate changes and give maximum production even during harsh weather condition. He congratulated the UAF administration for organizing agricultural exhibition and Gurr (Jaggery) Mela and said that such extra-curricular and healthy activities not only have a good impact on the students but also provide a platform to all stakeholders to share their ideas and expertise which would reciprocally help the university to achieve its goals. The secretary also appreciated the creation of integrated value chain and training of university staff for increasing per acre production of various crops. UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqar Ahmad Khan also spoke on the occasion and briefed the delegation of University of California about ongoing project of the university. The UAF had signed 184 international and 164 national Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) since 2008 for increasing per acre yield by developing new crop varieties and the process was still continuing on top priority basis, he added. Later, the Secretary Agriculture Punjab distributed shields among the members of foreign delegation.