Arid University organizes Farmers Day.

ISLAMABAD, 25 March , 2009 (Balochistan Times) -- Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi has ever been alive to reach the stakeholders so that results of their research and expertise may reach the end users. To meet this end, organized a Farmers Day on Wednesday at Research Farm Koont, Mandra-Chakwal road by collecting more than fifty active farmers, coming from different parts of Pothohar, for an interactive dialogue with the end users of the products of this University. Prof. Dr. Khalid Mahmood Khan, Vice Chancellor, PMAS-AAUR, who was chief guest on the occasion, said in his address, that the Pothohar belt has rich resources of cultivation of vegetables, fruits and cut flowers. He advised the farmers to adopt new innervations into the agriculture. He was of the opinion that the farmers of Pothohar belt are required to go for a cooperative farming and try the non-conventional crops, as these may fetch return. The practical approaches adopted by the farmers at their field can enrich the faculty and the students as also giving them practical problem for their research, while the farmers can benefit from the knowledge available at the University, he added. On the occasion, farmers visited the research farms of different departments and discussed their problems with the individual scientists. Different departments of the PMAS-AAUR also displayed their products/ research findings on stalls, which were visited by farmers and appreciated. While sharing their experiences they appreciated the positive efforts of PMAS-AAUR for organizing the Farmers Day and invited the University faculty and students to their field, to develop direct interaction with the scientist. Mushtaq Khan, Project Director, University Research Farm in his welcome address hoped that the present interaction shall be the beginning of a stronger interaction, which can go in the interest of the farmers and the University. On the occasion, Prof. Dr. Muneer Ahmad, Dena Faculty of Crop and Food Sciences, University Director Farm, Prof. Dr. Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Sahi, Dr. Ansar, Deputy Director Farm and Dr. Abdul Majeed, Country Representative ICARDA also addressed the farmers.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)