The government has allocated record Rs287 billion for the agriculture sector to take it into mainstream economy said by Mr. Muhammad Ayub, the Regional Secretary, Food Security and Research and Chairman Pakistan Agriculture Research Council . He said special focus is being paid to improve the sector and address the problems of the farmers. He said with the tangible research work, we can’t only increase the per acre productivity but also combat the issues of hunger and poverty.
UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ashraf said many people across the globe had lost their lives due to malnutrition and hunger. He said it’s the need of the hour to adopt biotechnology to meet the demand of the increasing world. He said genetically modified crops are as safe as non GM crops.
Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary, Director, ICCB and PABIC presented an overview of the agriculture Biotechnology in Muslim world. He mentioned facts and figures on the basis of ISAAA brief 54 and said that USA, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and India are the top five countries that adopted the biotechnology. He said out of 57 Islamic countries, only four including Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sudan are in the list of biotechnology commercialization.
Dr. Kauser Abdullah Malik, Director, PABIC (Lahore Chapter) gave an over view of the history of Agriculture biotechnology in Pakistan and troubles currently facing regarding the approval of GM maiz.
Mr. Muhammad Ayub launched the ISAAA Brief 54 also.
