Call to produce indigenous on-farm vegetable seeds
From Our Correspondent
FAISALABAD: Speakers at a seminar have called for tangible steps to pave the way for production of indigenous on-farm vegetable seeds as the country is spending huge foreign exchange of Rs 6 billion annually on import of vegetable seeds.
The seminar on dissemination of seed production technology of crops was arranged by the Vegetable Seed Laboratory, Institute of Horticulture Sciences, at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, UAF Vice-Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that the country was producing plenty of surplus food grains, fruits and vegetables but around 35 per cent women and children were malnourished due to bad eating habits and food preferences. He expressed his concern on various environmental hazards of producing vegetables by sewage and untreated industrial water. Using such vegetables might cause health problems to the consumers, he added. He said that due to the lack of awareness, affordability issue and other factors, farmers were left with no option but to grow vegetables with impure local vegetable seeds that resulted in huge economic loss to them. He said that vegetables coupled with grams were an essential element of quality life that would enrich the human body with iron, minerals and vitamins. He said that despite growing vegetables at rural areas, 67 per cent rural population used to purchase vegetables from urban markets. He added that the country was endowed with a diverse and fertile agro climatic zones that enabled the farmers to sow vegetables on early, timely and later stages that enabled the consumers to use the vegetables for longer time. He urged the farmers to produce their on-farm vegetable seeds. He was of the view that during the half decade, the campus had been transformed as a university of resonance, which equipped the students as well as the farmers with relevant entrepreneurial skills.
Earlier, Director Institute of Horticultural Sciences Dr Muhammad Amjad Aulakh said that his team was working in Faisalabad and Depalpur districts and so far distributed thousands of packets of vegetable seeds among the farmers. Besides distributing vegetables seeds, they were providing training to the farmers. Progressive farmers Mehmood and Wattoo also spoke on the occasion.
