US envoy opens climate-smart agri programme at UAF

FAISALABAD: US Ambassador Donald Blome inaugurated a new five-year climate-smart agriculture programme, established at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), and designed to equip local farmers with innovative tools and practices to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The US-funded initiative would benefit farmers across Pakistan. The US, earlier, had supported the establishment of a Centre for Advanced Studies in Agriculture at the UAF. US Consul General Kristin Hawkins and USAID Mission Director Kate Somvongsiri and UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Sarwar Khan joined Ambassador Blome at the launch event, along with Pakistani representatives from government, academia, and the agribusiness community.

The program builds on the longstanding partnership between the US and Pakistan in agriculture, exemplified by the ground-breaking work of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr Norman Borlaug, whose efforts in the 1960s significantly boosted wheat production in Pakistan.

“Through this initiative, the United States and Pakistan will collaborate to improve both crop yields and farmers’ livelihoods,” Ambassador Blome said. For over 60 years, the US and Pakistan have worked closely to strengthen agricultural output while promoting environmental conservation. Blome said, “Through projects like these, the United States is supporting a brighter, more prosperous, and climate-resilient future for the Pakistani people.”

Dr Sarwar Khan said the initiative would prove a hallmark to promote climate-smart agriculture. He said that in 1960s, Washington State University had designed the UAF and a team of professors stayed here for 10 years. He said likewise, USAID funded Centre for Advanced Studies at the UAF achieved tangible results for food security. He lauded the US for supporting the agriculture sector.