Govt to be suggested to declare
Faisalabad knowledge city: governor
Says malnutrition hitting large number of population, which needs to be addressed
From Our Correspondent
FAISALABAD: Governor Rafiq Rajwana has said that the government is taking all possible steps to address issues of the farmers and to ensure quality education that will help the country fight different challenges.
Chairing the 43rd Senate meeting of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad at New Senate Hall here on Thursday, he said: “Agriculture is the backbone of our economy that is contributing 21 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.” He said that tangible researches would pave the way to increase agriculture production as majority of the population depended on it. He said that he would suggest the government to declare Faisalabad a knowledge city to get benefits from its potential. The government had introduced the Kisan Package and increased loans for the farmers that were hallmark steps to ensure food security in the country. He showed his concern that malnutrition was hitting a large number of the population, which needed to be addressed effectively. To redress the grievances of the cotton growers about unavailability of seeds, the government had formulated the Punjab Seed Act.
The governor said: “Cotton crop is a key to our agrarian economy and the government is paying its full attention to support the cotton growers and ensure availability of quality seeds at fair prices.” He said that quality education at the district level would help the country fight challenges of the modern era. He acknowledged the ranking status of the UAF at the international and national levels and said that no nation could progress without education.
Speaking on the occasion, UAF Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that although the country was having abundant food but most of the population was malnourished. The UAF had developed a new variety of cotton, which was short duration and climate resilient, he added. He said that the UAF had also identified nine new varieties of mangoes out of 500 germplasms that would bring the tangible results. He said that the UAF was working on hybrid seeds of wheat and maize that would result in increasing their production. The UAF VC said that the university was in touch with 10 million farmers through mobile phones and internet. He lauded the steps being taken on the part of the government for the uplift of agriculture sector that was directly linked to the rural development. He said that the government was revamping the agriculture policies that would ensure agricultural development.
Commissioner Momin Agha stressed the need to declare the Faisalabad a knowledge city. He congratulated the government for bringing fruitful measures to address the problems of the farmers. He said that all possible measures were being taken for the welfare of the city.
Registrar Muhammad Hussain presented the agenda before the house. The Senate also elected Dr Ijaz Bhatti and Dr Tahira Iqbal as the members of the Syndicate for three years. The Senate also approved Rs 8,638.023 million budget estimates for the financial year 2016/17. The budget estimates were presented by Treasure Umer Saeed. The non-development expenditure is standing at Rs 4,233.281 million while the development funds, include Rs 788 million from federal government, Rs 853.017 million from the Punjab government and Rs 2,549 million competitive research grant.
Meanwhile, Governor Rafiq Rajwana visited the residence of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry former president Mian Muhammad Idrees at People’s Colony and discussed the business related issues with him. He assured him that the government would provide the best possible facilities to the business community.
The meeting was attended by Mian Javed Iqbal, Mian Muhammad Anees, Mian Imran Ghafoor, Mian Haseeb Ahmad, FCCI president Muhammad Saeed Sheikh, Sheikh Mukhtar Ahmad, Faisalabad Dry Port Trust Chairman Mukhtar Sheikh, MNA Mian Abdul Manan, Mian Ajmal Farooq, Fesco Chief Executive Officer Rasheed Ahmad Aslam and Maj (retd) Shah Nawaz.
