Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan has assured the research scholars associated with Ayub Agriculture Research Institute (AARI) Faisalabad that 4-tier system of service structure for the scholars performing agricultural research will be accorded within a month as the Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has summoned a proper summary in this regard from the Administrative Secretary of agriculture department of the province.
Addressing to the research scholars at Iftar/ dinner in Ayub Agriculture Research Institute Faisalabad, Rana Sanaullah Khan acknowledged the role of this prime research institute of the country, which succeeded to bring green revolution in Pakistan with evolving more than 420 new species of hybrid seeds of various cash crops having more yield and more resistance to different viral diseases and pest attacks. The minister gave an assurance to the research scholars to compensate them on priority basis, in terms of better service structure in lieu of their invaluable services to the nation.
Earlier, Director General (Research) Dr Noorul Islam while giving a briefing to the Minister on this occasion, disclosed that a record production of wheat has been yielded in the successive 4 years while 12 million bails of cotton yielded this year is also a record in the history of Pakistan.
He said that the research scholars in the field of agronomy and plant breading should be given credit to resolve food security issues of Pakistan. If the hybrid species of wheat like “Inqlab” and “Sehar” are not introduced by AARI, Pakistani nation could not had achieved autarchy and self sufficiency in food and agriculture, which is the main reason for our existence in the comity of nations as a respectable country. Our Amber Colored wheat has maximum content of gluten all over the world and Pakistan can capture the markets of middle east particularly that of Iran by focusing on value addition of the wheat product, he added.
The Director General informed the Minister that AARI had been successful to introduce 54 new varieties of seeds pertaining to various crops during the last 4 years, which has resulted into prosperity of small farmers all over the province of Punjab while the owners of small units of sugar crushers have become “Sugar Tycoons” only because of our research achievements in improving the yield of sugarcane in the recent years.
The yield of Acetic Fruits has been enhanced to such an extent that more than 250 units of Kino processing are working day and night in Sargodha to preserve the extra production of Kino for export purposes. He disclosed that as compared to 1947 when Pakistan came into existence, the agricultural scientists have succeeded to enhance the wheat production up to 700 per cent while the production of sugarcane has become 8 times as compared to that of 1947 and the production of quality rice has increased up to 1200 per cent during the last 65 years.
Dr Noorul Islam suggested the Minister to advocate the creation of larger cultivation units in the province on the basis of co-operative movement so that the cultivators could be enabled to make maximum use of research work of AARI and the government could materialise the supply of agricultural inputs on subsidised rates to the actual cultivators to make Pakistan a glowing example of success all over the world.
