Islamabad (PR):The Argentine Embassy in Pakistan in collaboration with Federal Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR), Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO-Pakistan) organized a Business Seminar on “New Avenues of Cooperation between Argentine and Pakistan in Agriculture Sector with special focus of Wheat and Maize Production” here on Friday at a local hotel in Islamabad.
While addressing on the occasion on behalf of Federal Minister for National Food and Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, the Acting Chairman PARC Dr. Nadeem Amjad said that the food and water security are the real concerns for the governments around the globe. Government of Pakistan is committed to ensure adequate provision of food items through well-defined and targeted interventions to ensure food security of 195.4 million populations. In Pakistan, wheat and maize are major in cereal crops. Wheat productivity increased in Pakistan during last decade due to the deployment of high-yielding varieties, resistant to disease and high use of fertilizer and farm machinery with average yield of 2.8 ton/ha. The maize yields per acre is also increasing significantly with the coordinated efforts of PARC and other international partners, he added.
Acting Chairman PARC said that Pak-Argentina can collaborate in many areas such as climate change impacts on water resources; irrigation water management, yield improvement in economically important crops; food processing; organic farming; and hybrid seed production of different crops. He said that Pakistan can also get significant benefits from the Argentinean expertise for establishment of modern abattoirs; genetic improvement of livestock breeds, quality vaccine production facility, fodder and feed production technologies, installation of milk processing units; fish farming; agricultural mechanization and institutionalization of disease surveillance, monitoring & reporting system in Pakistan and other allied potential areas.
H.E. Ambassador of Argentine in Pakistan Ivan Ivanissevich said that this seminar will explore new avenues of cooperation between both countries in agriculture and livestock sector. Former Secretary MNFS&R Seerat Asghar, FAO Representative-Pakistan Patrick T. Evans, Director General NARC Dr. M. Azeem Khan, and other experts also addressed and highlighted the potential scope of cooperation in agriculture and livestock sector between both countries to enhance the productivity through innovative and knowledge-based technologies as well as to improve the livelihoods of farming communities.
