‘Steps on to control locusts attack’

FAISALABAD: Pakistan Agriculture Research Council Chairman Dr Muhammad Azeem Khan has said that all-out effort is being carried out to address the issue of locusts and other agricultural challenges.

He visited the University of Agriculture Faisalabad and called on UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ashraf along with UAF agricultural engineers and entomologists. He said that the PARC would support the UAF to disseminate its locust spray machine, research and development work for fighting the agricultural challenges confronted the country. He also witnessed the UAF newly developed locusts spray machine first one in the country and termed it a hallmark step to combat locusts. He also visited the work on bio pesticide at locust research lab. He said that federal government was planning a project worth Rs 500 million to catch the locusts alive to use it as the poultry feed.

The UAF scientists should provide a complete research and development on locusts nutritive values for poultry and its feasibility etc, he added. He said that patents in the field of agriculture across the country were not more than 35 for which the agricultural scientists should come up with the innovative ideas to register these as patents.

UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ashraf said locusts had emerged as the second largest threat to the country after Covid-19 and it may be termed as Covid-20 as it was posing a serious threat to the food security.

He said that the UAF-developed locusts spray machine was first of its kind in the country that was bearing effective results. He said that tangible research and development on locusts were underway at the UAF.

He said according to the FAO, as many as 38 per cent of the total agricultural area in the country had become the breeding grounds for the desert locusts.

He said that 97 per cent of our farming community was comprising small farmers that were unable to adopt the mechanisation which was hampering the process to boost up our agriculture.

He added that the China had developed the small technology for small farmers. We had also need to develop such technology on that pattern that would boost up our agricultural productivity manifold, he suggested.

He said that in China, farmers from six-Kanal of land were earning income of 8000 dollars per annum due to mechanisation. In-charge of Water Management Research Centre Dr Muhammad Arshad, Engineer Ahmad Waqas, Chairman Entomology Dr Mansoor Sahi, Dr Ameer Rasool, Dr Muhammad Sagheer and others also attended the meeting.

20 arrested over gambling: The police arrested twenty persons on charges of gambling from different areas of Faisalabad during the past 12 hours and recovered stake money from their possession.

According to a police spokesman, Gulberg police on a tip-off arrested 15 persons engaged in gambling which is not only illegal practice but also increases the risk of catching coronavirus due to close proximity. Similarly, Millat Town police detained five gamblers and recovered bet money amounting to Rs 66,420, mobile phones and other items from their possession.