RAWALPINDI: Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Hussain Jahanian Gardei said on Saturday that “Smart Farms” will help farmers get modern farming technologies to increase agricultural production.
He said so during the inauguration of the Precision Agriculture Center established at the University Research Farm (URF), Koon of the Pir Mehr Ali Shah University of Arid Agriculture in Rawalpindi.
The objective of the creation of this center was to promote digital and precision agriculture at the national level so that farmers know in real time the needs of their crops.
Also, Vice Chancellor of Arid University, Prof. Dr. Qamaruz Zaman, Vice Chancellor of Agriculture University, Faisalabad, Prof. Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan and President of PCSIR, Dr. Syed Hussain Abidi , were also present at the event.
“High losses are feared and the establishment of this farm will be effective in bringing modern agricultural technology to farmers,” the Punjab Agriculture Minister said.
He asked the vice chancellors of universities to facilitate access of farmers to farms like this so that digital farming and precision farming can be popularized in Pakistan.
The provincial minister further said that by promoting modern agricultural technologies and digital agriculture, Pakistan can not only become self-sufficient in agricultural production, but also realize the dream of exporting agricultural products.
He congratulated Chancellor Prof Dr Qamaruz Zaman and his team for creating this farm and emphasized on updating its data on the back-end daily.
He also praised the Vice-Chancellor for bringing modern digital and precision agriculture to the university for the first time.
The provincial minister also indicated the allocation of funds for precision agriculture.
Later, the provincial minister inaugurated the Smart IoT Farm and also reviewed the use of smart spraying, drone technology, GNSS land leveling system, autopilot technology, irrigation system automatic and other precision crops.
During his address, Professor Dr Qamaruz Zaman said there is an urgent need to strengthen the links between industry and academia to promote modern agricultural technologies for which agronomists will have to do their utmost to solve the problems of farmers. .
Precision agriculture will not only increase production per acre, but will also help eliminate poverty and ensure food security.
While highlighting precision agriculture, he said it can play a dynamic role in solving all the problems faced by farmers by providing an intelligent farming system to increase agricultural production.
The Vice Chancellor also appreciated the efforts of Prof. Jahanzeb Masud Cheema and Dr. Naveed Tahir in establishing Smart IoT Farm and hopes that this farm will help improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
Professor Iqrar Ahmad Khan highlighted the need for a more advanced approach to agriculture and said modern technologies must be promoted for precision farming and increased productivity.
Dr. Syed Hussain Abidi and Dr. Abid Sulehri congratulated the Faculty and the Vice-Chancellor for the creation of Smart IoT Farm which will enable agricultural production and activities to be more profitable, efficient, safer and environmentally friendly. environment.
Posted in Dawn, September 25, 2022
Comments
Post a Comment